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Draft of Centre's new tourism policy suggests 'e-visa' and five new missions

New Delhi: The draft of the new National Tourism Policy of the Central Government has suggested the introduction of an ‘e-visa’ to boost the tourism sector in India. A mobile application has to be developed for the purpose, says the document. The policy seeks to make the country a top global tourism destination by 2030. Among the main goals of the plan is to prepare five countrywide programmes - National Green Tourism Mission, National Digital Tourism Mission, Tourism and Hospitality Sector Skill Mission, National Mission on DMO and National Mission on MSME. The government has also invited suggestions from the general public on the draft policy. Green Tourism Mission The aims of the National Green Tourism Mission include reducing water consumption and waste generation; ensuring efficient energy utilisation; roping in regional bodies for implementing tourism projects and thereby enhancing the incomes of local people as well as their living standards. Digital Mission The National Digital Tourism Mission seeks to empower stakeholders in the tourism sector in utilising digital technologies. DMO Mission According to the Central Government, new tourism destinations have to be identified and both government agencies as well as private entrepreneurs have to be involved in the process. The new policy has suggested a National Mission on Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for the purpose

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Passengers! No loud noise or music at night; Railways introduces new rules

New Delhi: The Railways has banned loud noises on trains between 10 pm and 6 am to ensure silence and enable proper sleep for passengers at night. In an order issued recently, the Railway authorities said that playing music in high volume on various devices, speaking loudly on mobile phones and engaging in noisy group discussions during these hours would invite strict punishment. Moreover, charging points in compartments would be switched off from 10 at night to 6 in the morning. However, hearing music on earphones is allowed. The order was issued after widespread complaints were received by the authorities over troublesome noise in compartments till late at night. In order to enforce the new rule, Railway Police officers, travelling ticket examiners (TTEs) and other staff will conduct awareness drives among passengers. At the same, these officials have been instructed to carry out their duties without causing much hassle to passengers

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Thailand plans to impose tourist fee from April

Bangkok: Thailand is planning to collect a 300 baht ($9) fee from foreign tourist from April to develop attractions and cover accident insurance for foreigners unable to pay costs themselves, senior officials said on Wednesday. Thailand, one of Asia's most popular travel destinations, has been badly hit by a pandemic-induced tourism slump, with about 200,000 arrivals last year, compared to nearly 40 million in 2019. Recent efforts to revive the sector have been complicated by the rapid global spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. "Part of the fee will be used to take care of tourists," Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters. "We've encountered times when insurance didn't have coverage for tourists ... which became our burden to take care of them," he said, adding that funds would also be used to upgrade tourism infrastructure. The fee adds to a list of requirements for foreign tourists seeking entry to Thailand, which include pre-payment for COVID-19 tests, hotel accommodation or quarantine, and having insurance with COVID-19 treatment coverage of at least $50,000. Thailand waived its strict quarantine measures in November in place of a "Test & Go" scheme for vaccinated visitors, but suspended that late last month over concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant. The new fee will be priced in with airline tickets and is part of the government's sustainable tourism plans, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said. Thailand expects between 5 and 15 million foreign arrivals this year, depending on policies in place in its main tourism markets, Thanakorn said. Foreign tourists are expected to generate 800 billion Thai baht ($23.97 billion) this year, he said.

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Hong Kong shortens on-arrival quarantine to two weeks from 21 days

Hong Kong on Thursday shortened the mandatory quarantine for international travellers from three weeks to two, even as the city struggles to contain virus outbreaks involving Omicron and Delta variants. Like mainland China, Hong Kong is one of the few places left in the world still pursuing a "zero-Covid" strategy that has largely kept the virus at bay but left the finance hub internationally isolated. The emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant saw the city increase its travel restrictions in December -- slamming borders shut to arrivals from eight countries and banning transit passengers from more than 150 destinations. But Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Thursday said beginning February 5, the three-week mandatory quarantine period for all arrivals -- some of the longest isolation measures in the world -- will be reduced to two weeks. "All arrivals to Hong Kong will undergo 14 days mandatory quarantine in designated hotels and seven days of self-monitoring at home," she said. Arrivals will be able to leave their homes during the final days but are required to take a Covid test at least twice, she added. However, social distancing measures across the city -- like the ban on restaurant dining after 6 pm -- will be extended for two more weeks, while schools will still be suspended. The ban on people arriving from eight countries - Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States -- will continue for another two weeks, to February 18. The extension come as Hong Kong prepares for the Lunar New Year, a usually raucous affair during which boisterous street fairs see lion dance performances and families gather for meals. "But considering the dire Covid situation, I have to appeal to all residents to stay at home, reduce cross-family gatherings and join hands to fight the virus," Lam said. Hong Kong's mandatory three-week quarantine is one of the longest in the world. It has been subject to a barrage of complaints from the international business community, with firms saying the policy deters talent from entering transport and logistics hub. Lam on Thursday said the policy change was "purely based on science", due to Omicron's shorter incubation period. Hong Kong on Thursday recorded 164 confirmed infections - the highest daily figure since the pandemic began - though only 116 were local cases.

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Air India officially handed over to Tatas as disinvestment process completes, new board takes charge

Amidst anticipation of likely handover by weekend, the government has announced that national carrier Air India has been officially handed over to the TATA Group of Companies with the strategic disinvestment process concluding on Thursday afternoon it received INR 2,700 crore Talace Pvt Ltd. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) under the Ministry of Finance announcing the development said that 100 per cent shares of Air India are now transferred to Talace, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TATA Sons. With this, Talace also gets full management control as the new board of Air India, led by the strategic partner takes charge of the airline. The ailing, debtridden carrier has received INR 1.10 lakh crore by way of cash support and loan guarantees by the government to keep it afloat. TATAs on October 8, 2021 had won the bid to acquire the national carrier with the winning bid of INR 18,000 crore - out of which INR 15,300 crore are for Air India's existing debt and INR 2,700 crore to be paid as cash to the government. On October 11, 2021, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was issued to the Tata Group confirming the government's willingness to sell its 100 per cent stake in the airline. On October 25, the Centre signed the share purchase agreement for the deal. With the acquisition process now complete, the Tata Group has got access to a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft, and 24 narrow-body aircraft of Air India Express. Besides, it will get control of 4,400 domestic and 1,800 international landing, and parking slots at domestic airports. While this is Centre's first privatisation since 2003-04, Air India has now got three airlines in its kitty, with majority share in Air India India and a joint venture with Singapore Airlines for another full-service carrier Vistara. Out of the total debt of Air India, a majority portion has been transferred to a special purpose vehicle, AIAHL, which will also manage all the land and buildings belonging to the airline, which are not part of the deal with TATAs. The airline started suffering heavy losses every year, close to INR 20 crore a day, post its merger with Indian Airlines in 2007-08.

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Air India Express to begin flights connecting multiple cities of India to Malaysia from February

Air India’s low-cost international carrier, Air India Express has announced that it will start new flight between India and Malaysia from February 2022 connecting multiple Indian cities with the South Asian nation. The airline while announcing the schedule stated that the service will be operated under the government’s Vande Bharat Mission. Starting February 1, Air India will express fly between Kula Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia and key metro cities of India such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Trichy. In a social media post, the budget carrier said that bookings for flights are open now which passengers can book via its official website, booking offices, call centre, mobile apps and through authorised travel agents. However, the airline mentioned that bookings for flights from Kuala Lumpur to India could be done only through Oscar Holidays. Flights on the Kuala Lumpur – Delhi sector will run on February 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 17, 20 and 22while on the Kuala Lumpur- Trichy route, flight will fly on February 1,3,6,8,10,11,13,15,17,20,22,24,25 and 27. Flights to Chennai will operate on February 3, 10, 17 and 24 whereas, flight to Vijayawda and Hyderabad will fly on February 9 and 23. Flights to Kochi and Bengaluru will be operational on February 10 and 24. In another communication, Air India Express said that it will also run additional flights between India and Saudi Arabia with frequencies increasing on flight to Riyadh from Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Kochi from last week of January. More flight are also announced between Kozhikode and Dammam on January 27 and 28, 2022.

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