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Travel agents body TAAI seeks 'One India One Tourism' approach in Budget

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has sought 'One India One Tourism' approach, which is inclusive of 'One Tax Structure,' in the forthcoming Union Budget to revive the pandemic-hit domestic travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Besides, the Association has sought bringing Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) under the ambit of GST to make air travel "more viable" for all stakeholders as well as extension of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme. There are several aspects which can be expected in the upcoming Budget to support the entire sector of 'travel tourism and hospitality,' which will help in making this sector revive and survive, TAAI, which is headed by Jyoti Mayal, said in a statement on Saturday. "For this, it is extremely important for both the central and state governments concurrent list to get Industry status to make it more structured," theAssociation said.

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Centre asks airlines to enforce one handbag policy

New Delhi: Aviation security regulator, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has instructed the airlines to follow the one handbag per passenger rule to ease congestion at airports. This rule was implemented after the authorities noticed passengers carrying 2 or 3 handbags inside the plane. They noticed that this is causing a delay in clearance and adding more woes to the other passengers. What all constitute a handbag? During official trips, you can carry one handbag (height, the width cannot go beyond 115 cms) and their weight will depend on the airline companies' rules for different classes. Apart from this, two rules made in 2000 is also applicable here which says you can carry necessary items like a ladies handbag, laptop, overcoat, blanket, camera/binoculars, a book to read, umbrella, walking stick, snacks for children, foldable wheelchair, crutches, and some stuff from the Duty-free shop. According to the new rule, you can’t carry more than one handbag during travelling. The onus will be on the airlines to carry on this rule stringently. Before the security check, the airlines staff should make sure the passengers are following this one bag rule strictly. The one handbag rule should be mentioned in the ticket and boardin pass. There should be a mandatory board at the check-in counters. If need be, some of the stuff inside the handbag should be permitted to be transferred to the checking luggage

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Thailand to resume quarantine free travel from February 1

Good news for travellers wishing to travel to Thailand in 2022. As per the latest reports, Thailand will be resuming a quarantine-free travel scheme for international travellers from February 1. Referring to this, officials in the know-how informed that after the programme was suspended due to rise in Omicron cases, the kingdom's tourism-dominated economy suffered a lot as the visitor numbers dropped down to a trickle. Reports have it that fully vaccinated travellers will now be able to enter the country under the Test and Go scheme, and will have to take COVID tests on the first and fifth days after arriving. This was stated by Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the country's COVID-19 taskforce. As such, travellers will be required to isolate themselves at a hotel while waiting for their test results, and they will be required to download a tracking app to ensure that they comply with the rules. In a move to boost the country’s economic performance, Thailand launched the said Test and Go scheme in November as an alternative to two weeks' hotel quarantine. The said programme was suspended late last month as the country reported rising cases of Omicron, but with hospitalisations not spiking, the spokesperson added that it could resume the program although the authorities will keep it under watch. He added that in case the situation changes or there are more infections, there will be a re-assessment for inbound travellers and adjust toward the sandbox scheme. As per the sandbox programme, which was launched last year, fully vaccinated visitors were allowed to spend seven nights in certain designated locations, such as the resort island of Phuket before being allowed to travel on to the rest of Thailand. As per the estimates of the Tourism Ministry, around five million foreign visitors will likely visit Thailand in 2022, which is down from nearly 40 million if compared to the pre-pandemic levels.

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India COVID-19 revised rules: Isolation not mandatory for foreign arrivals

As per the latest travel guidelines, travellers arriving in India from any country and testing positive will not mandatorily be managed at an isolation facility. They will however be treated/isolated as per the laid down standard protocol, not essentially at an isolation facility. Now, as per the revised guidelines for international arrivals that have been recently released, the new norm will come into effect from January 22, 2022, and will remain in place until further orders. Reports also have it that the rest of the provisions will remain the same in the revised guidelines. As per the existing guidelines, travellers coming from any country, including from those considered ‘at-risk', will be managed at an isolation facility, and will be treated as per the said standard protocols. The recently announced revised guidelines have removed the clause that made staying at an isolation facility mandatory upon arrival. Those found to be symptomatic during screening will be isolated immediately and taken to a medical facility as per health protocol. Contacts of those who are found positive shall be identified and managed as per protocol. However, do note that foreign arrivals who test positive, will still have to undergo home quarantine for seven days, and even if they test negative, they will have to undergo RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India.

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Karnataka lifts weekend curfew: Here are the modified Covid-19 guidelines

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai took the decision after holding a meeting with members of the Technical Advisory Committee, ministers and senior officials. The Karnataka government Friday decided to lift the weekend curfew that was in force in the state to curb the spread of Covid-19. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai took the decision after holding a meeting with members of the Technical Advisory Committee, ministers and senior officials. However, the night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am would be in force for all seven days of the week. “Based on public demand and opinion of the experts, it has been decided to withdraw the weekend curfew for now. However, depending on the hospitalisation trend next week, a suitable decision would be taken at a meeting on whether to reimpose the restrictions,” the guidelines stated. “Therefore it is essential for the general public to conduct responsibly and follow the Covid guidelines.” Malls, gyms, hotels, bars, clubs and pubs can operate with 50 percent capacity and mandatory double vaccination of patrons. Classes one to nine in schools in the Bengaluru-Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike will be closed till January 29. But in-person classes will continue for students of classes 10, 11 and 12 as usual, said Education Minister B C Nagesh after the meeting. Bengaluru Metro train operations will be restored over the weekend. “Due to the withdrawal of weekend curfew by the Karnataka government, trains will run between 5 am to 11 pm from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays train operations will be from 7 am to 11 pm,” Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) confirmed. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has also decided to resume normal bus services. Meanwhile, Revenue Minister R Ashoka said protests, political rallies, and fairs will have restrictions. Bommai said that vigil is being maintained on hospitalisation of children. “The average case doubling rate in the state is 3 days and each infection is spreading to 2.6 persons. Of the 243 PSA plants sanctioned for the state 225 have started functioning. PSA plants have started functioning in all districts and 113 taluk hospitals. Medical and paramedical staff are increasingly getting infected,” CM said in a statement. “Though weekend curfew had been imposed, it has not been very effective. While the number of cases is on the rise, the number of those getting admitted into hospitals has remained low at 5-6%. The recovery rate is high. However the experts have opined that the cases are likely to hit the peak next week. Rising infection among Covid frontline workers has been taken note of. The meeting discussed aspects of both life and livelihood. Taking into account all the aspects these decisions have been taken,” he added in the statement. Karnataka on Friday recorded 48,049 new Covid-19 cases along with 22 deaths and 18,115 recoveries. The capital Bengaluru alone registered 29,068 fresh infections and six deaths. The state currently has 3,23,143 active cases majority of which are from Bengaluru.

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Quarantine-free international travel to Queensland a ‘great relief’ for tourism industry

For the first time in two years, international travellers can now fly into Queensland without having to quarantine. Tourism Tropical North Queensland’s CEO Mark Olsen says it comes as a “great relief” for the tourism industry, specifically in Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, after 22 months of “global isolation”. “We’re starting to see some early bookings coming through from international students, particularly out of key markets like Japan,” Mr Olsen told Sky News Australia. “Working holiday makers is a little bit slower, so it’s going to be a slow recovery, particularly for Cairns.” Mr Olsen said it is a “four-to-five-year endeavour” for international tourism to return to pre-pandemic levels without continued government support.

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