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Monaco Highlights Its Tourism Opportunities At Expo 2020

The presence of Monaco as an exhibiting country at the World Expo 2020 has proven a great opportunity to promote jointly the key strengths of the Principality in the areas of luxury tourism, hospitality, entertainment, gaming, real estate, shopping and business tourism. In line with the theme of Expo 2020 – ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, the architecture of Monaco Pavilion surprises and fascinates. It is inspired by a kaleidoscope that incorporates the "Rock" of Monaco and reflects the many facets of the Principality. The Pavilion is in the shape of a polygon, covered in photovoltaic panels to reflect the actions taken by the Principality on the energy transition and environmental protection. Located in the Expo 2020’s Opportunity Thematic District, the Monaco Pavilion is spread over different levels that are full of surprises. It is an invitation to discover, observe and interact with an environment of cultural resources, research and know-how. Right before entering the pavilion, the visitors will be immersed in the "History of Monaco". Moving further, the visitors will enjoy two main exhibition worlds. The first, named as "the Garden of Opportunities”, which showcases projects and high-quality pioneering work, made in Monaco and internationally. It will look like a kaleidoscopic fantasy garden that comes out of one’s imagination. All facilities of the Pavilion are interactive, with diverse interfaces that offer multiple forms of engagement to interested and curious visitors. The visit of the "Garden of Opportunities" will end with a unique experience in the Kaleidoscope, where visitors will discover the identity of “Monaco 360°, a world of opportunities”, through the arts and culture, science and sport, tourism and hospitality, history and exploration, extensions of its territory, gastronomy and tradition.

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TCEB announces lucrative incentives for Indian MICE agents

Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), the nodal agency under Thailand Tourism entrusted with the promotion of Conventions and Exhibitions into Thailand, has announced lucrative incentives to encourage trade visitors to attend the exhibitions happening in Thailand both virtually and physically. The TCEB Representative office in India has shared the details of the new incentive scheme in a recent webinar with the Indian trade. While the destinations continue to be out of bounds for a lot of interested trade visitors as skies are not fully open and therefore interacting with international business counterparts physically will continue to be a challenge, the Exhibition Division of TCEB has come up with incentives to promote virtual trade visitors to shows coming up in Thailand. The incentives will range from USD 12.5K for virtual visitors to USD 25K for physical attendance. MICE agents may mobilise a virtual delegation of a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 250 attendees for any supported shows in Thailand. For virtual attendees, the incentive is 50 USD per visitor subject to 3 meetings during the show per visitor. There are plenty of shows lined up in Thailand for the year 2022, ranging from Food, Auto, Machine Tools, Pharma, Packaging, Retail, Engineering, Communication, and so on. Qualifying parties may choose the show to promote to their respective business clients to form the virtual delegation.

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Puducherry CM urges Centre to help Puducherry govt in expansion of airport runway

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Monday urged Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to extend cooperation to the Union territory government for expansion of the airport here. Participating in the conference on 'PM Gati Shakti' for South zone held through virtual mode and conducted by the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, Rangasamy said that the runway is presently 1,502 metres long and it needs to be extended to 1,828 metres. A release from the Chief Minister's Office said Rangasamy had urged Gadkari to establish an airport in Karaikal in view of the spiritual and pilgrimage importance of the famous temple of Lord Saneeswarar situated in Tirunallar near Karaikal. Rangasamy, who is heading an AINRC-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government in the UT, also said the temple in Tirunallar sees lakhs of devotees from within the country and across the world. He said that a ferry service between Puducherry and Karaikal was another immediate requirement. Thanking the Union Transport Ministry for sanctioning INR 450 crore to develop road infrastructure between the Indira Gandhi square and Rajiv Gandhi square in the UT, the Chief Minister said this project would decongest vehicular traffic on the vital route. He said that the Centre should also introduce train services between Puducherry and Karaikal through Tranquebar, Sirkali and Cuddalore segments in neighbouring Tamilnadu. Rangasamy made a strong case for linking Puducherry with Yanam region of the Union Territory in Andhra Pradesh by extending the service beyond Kakinada. The extension of East Coast railway service from Mahabalipuram and Puducherry was another requirement of the people of the UT, he said. Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who also participated in the video conference, said in a press release that she had pleaded for establishment of special economic zones (SEZs) in Puducherry and Karaikal. The LG said she had urged the Union minister to take steps to reopen the defunct textile mills in Puducherry to generate job opportunities besides development of ports and tourism-related infrastructure.

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Carrying COVID vaccine certificate not mandatory, says Centre

As per a latest development, the Centre has informed the Supreme Court that it has not issued any Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that makes it mandatory for people to carry vaccination certificates for any purpose. This move comes at a time when many states and airlines insist on visitors to provide COVID vaccination certificates to gain entry into the state or fly to certain destinations. The Centre stated this while responding to a petition seeking exemption from vaccination certificates for people with disabilities. As per the Centre, the government is running 'vaccination for all' programmes, including at home or near to home vaccination strategies, and making all efforts to provide vaccination facilities to everybody, including the disabled, to get vaccinated without any hassle. Referring to this, the Centre also stated that it has advised all UTs and states to ‘vaccinate bed ridden or beneficiaries with extremely restricted mobility or disability and/or special needs along with their caregivers at their places of residence using mobile vaccination teams’. Further, the Health Ministry also informed the Supreme Court that eSanjeevaniOPD, a patient-doctor telemedicine platform, had been rolled out on April 13, 2020. It is functional in 30 states, and has around 25000 doctors on board to advise COVID patients and their relatives regarding medicines and care to be given to COVID patients.

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Abu Dhabi border rules: Covid vaccine booster must to enter Emirate

UAE is taking several proactive precautionary and preventive health measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the Emirates. In its latest update, Al Hosn app, UAE's official app for all your Covid-19 test results, said that a booster shot for all types of Covid-19 vaccinations has been made a mandatory requirement to enter Abu Dhabi and most public places in the emirate. The official Twitter handle posted: “Booster doses for all types of vaccinations are required. Make sure to book yours now if it’s been six months since you completed your vaccination to maintain the Green Pass.” Health practitioners in the country have advised residents to get get vaccinated and boosted in order to reduce risk of virus symptoms, especially becoming severely ill. Al Hosn also noted that even if a person has taken Pfizer-BioNTech as a booster dose after taking two doses of Sinopharm, still that individual needs to take another booster shot if it has been six months since the last jab. “Kindly book your booster dose as soon as possible to maintain green status in the Alhosn app.” In August, the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office noted that fully vaccinated residents who have taken Sinopharm dose more than six months ago must take a booster shot whereas individuals who have taken other vaccinations didn’t require a booster dose yet. In December, National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) urged all UAE residents aged 18 and above to receive a booster six month after receiving a last dose. The latest update from Al Hosn app clarifies the requirement in Abu Dhabi. A ‘green pass’ is activated if you are fully vaccinated and have a negative PCR test result from within the past 14 days. To be fully vaccinated, you must have received two doses of a vaccine. To maintain vaccination status, you must receive a booster dose if you received your second dose six months or more earlier.

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Goa tops the list of favourite destinations for Indian travellers

New Delhi: A majority of Indians would prefer to go local and explore domestic destinations instead of international ones this year with Goa topping the bucket list followed by Manali. OYO Travelopedia, the annual consumer survey by OYO to study travel intent and expectations among its user base across some of its core markets, including India, Indonesia and Europe, took responses of nearly 3,000 people in December 2021. As per the survey, 61 per cent of Indians would prefer to go local and explore domestic destinations, while 25 per cent would like to try international as well as domestic trips in 2022. Despite the excitement to travel, 80 per cent of respondents said safety continues to be a key concern amid the pandemic and the arrival of booster dose would give them the reassurance to travel. As far as the favourite destination is concerned, Goa topped a third of the respondents' 2022 bucket lists, it said. "This is followed by Manali, Dubai, Shimla and Kerala," hospitality chain OYO said adding other international destinations on Indian travellers' bucket list include Maldives, Paris, Bali and Switzerland. When it comes to travel partners, 37 per cent of the respondents said they would like to travel with their spouses or partners. On the other hand, 19 per cent said they would "love to take that much awaited vacation with close friends", while 16 per cent opted for a family vacation, and another 12 per cent preferred solo backpacking. "A good 16 per cent of respondents said they would like it all!," the survey said. According to OYO Travelopedia, in Indonesia, Bali emerged as the favourite destination for 2022, while in Europe, a majority of respondents opted for Bornholm, the Danish island in the Baltic Sea. A vast majority of people in the Netherlands said they would love to travel to Austria this year.

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