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MoT to soft-launch Incredible India sub-brands at Dubai Expo next week

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India will hold 10-day long events at India Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020 to showcase and promote India's tourism prowess in different aspects of travel and tourism. As per the schedule of events finalised by the Ministry and the industry partner FICCI, discussions, and presentations on various aspects of Indian tourism will be held at the Expo through these 10 days. It is learned that the government will soft-launch its Incredible India subbrands of Heal in India (For Medical Value and Wellness tourism) and Meet in India ( for MICE Tourism) at the Dubai Expo. The National Strategy Draft for different verticals of Indian Tourism circulated for feedback by the Ministry of Tourism early this year had proposed subbrands for Medical and Wellness tourism and MICE Tourism to communicate India's capabilities in these areas to the outside world better. At the Expo, there will be a discussion on the Heal in India programme. The panel discussion scheduled on January 4 will see experts from both modern medicines as well as the traditional Ayurvedic systems presenting India's edge in medical and wellness tourism. The discussion on Heal in India- Rejuvenate the Mind, Body, and the Soul is hosted by the FICCI Life sciences and MVT committee and will be moderated by Sajeev Kurup, Chairman of Ayurveda and Wellness Committee of FICCI. The panel comprises Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, Atul Mohan Kochhar, CEO, NABH; Azad Moopen, MD, Aster DM Healthcare; Dr D Ramanathan, MD, Sitaram Ayurveda; Abhilas Ramesh, Executive Director, Kairali Ayurvedic Group among others. Talking about India's vast advantage in Medical Value and Wellness Tourism, Sajeev Kurup said, "India with its huge capacity in healthcare, the success of vaccination drive, own vaccine making capacity, committed health care workers, etc., has put India in the status of a developed country." "So this is the right time to promote India as a destination for Health care. The Indian system of medicines, like Ayurveda, Sidda, Unani along with various indigenous healing sectors like tribal medicines, nattu vaidyam, ottamuli, Kalari, etc., are getting more importance equally with Homeopathy and Modern Allopathic treatments," Kurup added. He further said, "India's unique tropical climate, the availability of natural herbs, experienced and committed manpower, world-class service providers, moderately priced expenses, connectivity, etc., stands unique to excel." In the Dubai Expo, Heal in India, the eminent speakers will share the prospects and development of India as a medical treatment destination both for Modern as well as traditional Indian systems of medicines to the international and Indian citizens who are watching and viewing the session, Kurup said. India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) will host the discussion on Meet in India panel discussion on January 12 at Dubai Expo. Between these, there will be business panels on luxury travel; cultural and spiritual tourism, sustainable and responsible Tourism; adventure tourism; etc.

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Uttarakhand's Khatima to host 'Surai Ecotourism Zone', 'Kakra Crocodile Trail'

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will inaugurate 'Surai Ecotourism Zone' and 'Kakra Crocodile Trail' at Khatima on Wednesday. The 'Surai Ecotourism Zone' will be the first such eco-tourism zone in the state where tourists will be able to enjoy jungle safari. Till now, the jungle safari is only being practised in the national parks and biosphere reserves in the state, as per a press statement from the Uttarakhand government. Also, the 'Kakra Crocodile Trail; the first crocodile trail of the country where tourists will be able to witness the crocodile specie 'Marsh' from close, safely. Both these schemes are in line with the Chief Minister's 'Young Ecopreneur Scheme' under which self-employment opportunities are being created by connecting the economy of the local people of Uttarakhand with forests and wildlife. Under this scheme, the target is to make 1 lakh youth 'ecopreneurs'. Sandeep Kumar, DFO of Terai Eastern Forest Division said that an innovative scheme is being implemented for how to connect the people of Khatima, surrounded by forest area with environmental protection and self-employment. The main objective of this scheme is to help Khatima and surrounding areas, which have been backward from the point of view of tourism, gain a high place in tourism. The Chief Minister's vision is to convert the Surai forest area into an eco-tourism zone by systematically developing the 'Tarai Eastern Forest Division', which has biodiversity and wildlife so that its natural beauty can be used to provide direct and indirect employment to the local people. In this connection, in the past, he had announced to develop Surai and the surrounding forest area of 'Tarai Eastern Forest Division' from the point of view of tourism.

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Rajasthan: Light and sound shows set up at five tourist places to promote tourism

Light and sound shows were introduced at five tourist places in Rajasthan, including the state capital, on Monday to promote tourism in the state, officials said.Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, inaugurated light and sound show at Jai Niwas garden behind Govind Dev temple in Jaipur, Meera Bai memorial in Nagaur's Merta town, Chittorgarh fort, Machkund in Dholpur and historic lake of Gadsisar in Jaisalmer through video conference, they said. Gehlot said that Rajasthan has a unique identity in the tourism sector in the country and the world and a large number of domestic and foreign tourists visit the state to see its culture, forts, palaces, step-wells, wildlife and desert. He said that the state government has created a tourism development fund of INR 500 crore for the development of facilities at tourist places, conservation and branding at the national and the international level. "The tourism industry plays an important role in employment generation. The livelihood of lakhs of people is linked to it. The economy of many countries of the world depends on the tourism industry," he said. Gehlot said that development work is being done at all major religious and tourist places in the state. Besides, new circuits to encourage religious, wildlife, tribal and desert tourism are being promoted, he said. "The government is also leaving no stone unturned to support this industry affected by the Coronavirus pandemic," the Chief Minister said. Union Minister of State for Culture, Arjun Ram Meghwal, attended the event through video conference. He said the five places where light and sound shows were inaugurated have a great importance from history and tourism point of view. "This will give impetus to the tourism development of the state," he said. Rajasthan Tourism Minister, Vishvendra Singh, said that the tourism industry of the state affected by Coronavirus is again on track and has got a major boost due to the decisions and efforts of the government. He urged Meghwal to take initiative for early approval of eight mega projects of the state pending at the central government level, an official release said.

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Australia seeks to ease Covid-19 test rules as cases hit records

Australia will seek to make urgent changes to Covid-19 testing rules to ease pressure on test sites as infections surged and the country's most populous state reported a near doubling in daily cases. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday Australia needed "a gear change" to manage testing requirements, redefine who qualifies as a close contact and the furlough of virus-exposed workers. He called a snap meeting of the national cabinet on Thursday. "We just can't have everybody just being taken out of circulation because they just happen to be at a particular place at a particular time," Morrison said during a media briefing. Morrison's proposed rules on close contacts could mean most people do not have to get PCR tests or isolate themselves, cutting long lines at test sites and 72-to-96-hour waits for lab results. A growing number of countries, including the United States and Britain, have shortened the recommended isolation time for asymptomatic cases. The proposal on new testing requirements comes as Queensland promised to relax rules for interstate travellers with domestic arrivals needing only a negative rapid antigen test result to gain entry from January 1 rather than the PCR test. Morrison said AUD 375 million (USD 271 million) will be used to buy millions of additional rapid antigen test kits. Queensland's so-called "tourism tests" came under severe criticism from New South Wales after holiday travellers crowded its testing hubs, causing delays in results of several days. "It's insanity" Even with soaring infections, some testing centres in Sydney were closed following the public holidays and those that were open had long walk-in and drive-in queues. "It's insanity," 44-year-old Hayden Anderson, who is battling liver cancer told Reuters. "Why are all the testing centres shut?" Anderson had a PCR test after a friend he caught up with just before Christmas tested positive. When he went for a follow-up test, the site was closed. After seeing long lines at other testing hubs, he settled for a rapid antigen test at home, but with soaring cases he is concerned he might struggle to get a PCR test, as required, ahead of his next chemotherapy appointment on January 11. "It's like walking a tightrope right now," he said. Australia is in the grip of an outbreak of the highly infectious Omicron variant, with the country's new daily infections spiking to nearly 18,300, eclipsing the previous pandemic high of around 11,300 hit on Tuesday. Cases in most states climbed to one-day records with New South Wales, Australia's most populous state and home to Sydney, reporting a near doubling in infections to 11,201. Despite the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, Morrison has so far ruled out lockdowns, urging people to focus on the number of patients admitted to hospitals. While hospitalisations have crept up, they are still off the peak of the Delta wave. Despite the Omicron and Delta waves, Australia's Covid-19 numbers are still among the lowest in the world with about 341,500 cases and 2,210 deaths, thanks to strict social distancing rules and tough border restrictions. But most states have now begun to live with the virus after higher inoculation levels.

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WHO warns of 'very high' Omicron risk as Covid surges worldwide

Omicron still poses "very high" risk and could overwhelm healthcare systems, the WHO warned on Wednesday, as the highly transmissible Coronavirus variant fuelled record outbreaks in many countries. Case numbers have shot up 11 per cent globally in the last week, forcing governments from China to Germany and France to find a difficult balance between anti-virus restrictions and the need to keep economies and societies open. The Netherlands and Switzerland said Omicron had become the dominant strain in their countries, and while some studies suggested it causes milder Covid-19, the World Health Organisation urged caution. "The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high," the UN health agency said in its Covid-19 weekly epidemiological update. "Consistent evidence shows that the Omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling time of two to three days," it added. The WHO said that early data from Britain, South Africa, and Denmark, which currently has the world's highest rate of infection per person, suggested there was a reduced risk of hospitalisation for Omicron compared with Delta. But it added that further data was needed to understand Omicron's severity. And despite those studies, Omicron's rapid growth "will still result in large numbers of hospitalisations, particularly amongst unvaccinated groups, and cause widespread disruption to health systems and other critical services", warned WHO Europe's Covid Incident Manager Catherine Smallwood. Painful restrictions Europe was again one of the hotspots for the pandemic, which is known to have claimed more than 5.4 million lives around the world. France, Britain, Greece and Portugal all reported record daily case numbers on Tuesday. France reported almost 180,000 infections over 24 hours. To hold back the tide, many nations on the continent have brought back curbs with heavy economic and social consequences. Contact restrictions were in place in Germany for the second year in a row heading into the New Year, as Europe's biggest economy shut nightclubs and forced sports competitions behind closed doors. It also limited private gatherings to 10 vaccinated people, or two households where any unvaccinated people are present. Finland on Tuesday said it would bar unvaccinated foreign travellers from entering. Only residents, essential workers or diplomats will be exempt. The Nordic country, like Sweden, had begun requiring negative tests for incoming non-resident travellers from Tuesday, a day after Denmark applied the same measure. But the Belgian government's plans to introduce further restrictions were thwarted as a court suspended an order closing entertainment venues. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had announced the original measure on December 22 as Belgium saw a sharp increase in the percentage of tests showing the Omicron variant. Travel chaos The Covid spikes around the world have caused severe disruptions to travel over the holidays, with thousands of flights cancelled worldwide. They are also threatening sports events again. England's top football league is grappling with record cases, while China has imposed strict lockdowns on millions of people to control the spread of the Delta variant ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Mexico City's mayor on Tuesday cancelled the capital's massive New Year's Eve celebrations as a preventative measure after a rise in Covid-19 cases. The top American sports leagues have also been hit, as the United States battles a surge fuelled by Omicron, as well as large pockets of unvaccinated people and a lack of access to quick and easy testing. The US Centers for Disease Control has halved the isolation period for asymptomatic cases to try and limit disruptions and mass labour shortages. President Joe Biden said the United States was generally well prepared, though some hospitals could be "overrun". As New Yorkers marked "Good Riddance Day" at Times Square, burning pieces of paper representing their worst memories of 2021, many just wanted to say goodbye to Covid-19. "I want to get rid of Covid and quarantines," said teacher Robin Myers on Tuesday. "So that my kids can be normal again and see their friends and be out and be social," Myers added.

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Singapore & India flights: Scoot will fly to six Indian cities started from yesterday

Singapore’s low-cost airline, Scoot has announced new flights to India from Singapore under the air bubble travel agreement, where the airline will fly to six Indian cities starting December 28. In a circular sent to its partners and travel agents, the Budget carrier of Singapore Airlines said these flights do not come under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) agreement signed with India and travellers will have to adhere to entry rules and health guidelines issued by Singaporean authorities on arrival. Under the existing rules amidst the Omicron scare, incoming flyers are required to follow seven day Stay Home Notice (SHN) in Singapore. The LCC already operates flights to India including services in Hyderabad, Tiruchirappalli, and Amritsar, while Coimbatore, Trivandrum, and Vishakhapatnam will be new connections to the airline’s network, where it will be flying for the first time. To promote tourists to visit Singapore with the resumption of more flights between both the cities, Scoot has also introduced promotional fares which are available on Scoot direct channels – On the bookings made on the company’s website, mobile Singapore Airlines and its subsidiaries had last week announced that they will stop taking new flight bookings in the VTL arrangement between December 23, 2021, and January 20, 2022. This followed the Singapore government’s directive to suspend new ticket sales on designated VTL flights for entry into Singapore during this time. Travellers with pre-bookings and confirmed booking on a VTL flight and who have successfully applied for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP), if applicable, will not be affected by this directive, and may proceed with their travel. There is no change to existing VTL or test requirements, and travellers with existing bookings may enter Singapore quarantine free if they meet all VTL requirements. Transit passengers can also travel without any disruption.

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