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Ask all flyers from at-risk countries to book online RT-PCR tests, Delhi International Airport Ltd urges Centre

The Delhi airport has requested the Centre to make it mandatory for all international passengers from the "at-risk" countries to pre-book their onarrival RT-PCR tests. Scenes of crowding a few days ago have now prompted nearly half of the 3,000-odd passengers daily flying into IGI Airport from these countries to pre-register - up from 30 per cent when the new rules kicked in following the Omicron scare. Almost 85 per cent of the arriving passengers are opting for the INR 3,500 rapid RT-PCR tests whose report comes in a maximum of 90 minutes, according to Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL). "We sought National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories' (NABL) permission to shift some testing machines from the multi-level car park in front of T3 to inside the terminal to cut time in taking samples to the lab," DIAL CEO, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, told TOI on Friday. "So far 35 machines have been installed inside the terminal and we have requested NABL to allow us to have 100 machines. The aim is to cut time for getting rapid RT-PCR reports by 20 minutes," he added. All flyers from the at-risk countries can leave the airport only after getting their report, Jaipuriar said. However, "someone coming from a non-at-risk country, say the US, by transiting via an airport in an at-risk country, say London/Frankfurt/Paris, does not need to be mandatorily tested on arrival," he pointed out. "We have made provisions in our Air Suvidha portal to segregate such passengers based on the place of origin to ensure that no one gets needlessly tested or evades the same." People registering from the at-risk countries have a red band and "H" written on their form to detect them in case of a black and white printout. The rest have an orange band and no alphabet. DIAL had first made arrangements for on-arrival testing due to Covid-19 in December 2020 when the same was made compulsory for arrivals from the UK and South Africa following the Delta variant. Around 300 people coming from the UK were then tested daily. Now with arrivals from more countries requiring testing, arrangements are made at 10 times the scale - from daily 300 to 3,000. "We have two distinct peak arrival times from at-risk countries - 11pm to 2am (800 flyers) and 10am to noon (500-600 flyers). At-risk countries that have scope to add flights under bubble arrangements are not being given more flights during these hours," Jaipuriar said.

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Andhra Pradesh is planning to upgrade tourism infrastructure at Gandikota village

The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to improve the state's tourism sector, starting with the village of Gandikota. As per latest reports, Gandikota is going to get a ropeway very soon, which is going to cost a total of INR 4.50 crore. According to the state's Tourism Minister, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, the social infrastructure will also be developed at Borra Caves with an expenditure of INR 2.70 crore and cottages to be constructed at Maredumilli with INR 1.15 crore. Apart from these, water and adventure sports are to be developed at various places in the state. Andhra Pradesh is one of South India's favoured destinations, with a lot to see. The state has also proposed construction of toilets and restaurants at Lambasingi. This beautiful village is situated in the Visakha forest region. The destination attracts at least 20000 tourists per day. Nestled in the Eastern Ghats, with a cool climate, Lambasingi is one of the best places to visit in Andhra Pradesh. Gandikota is a village destination on the right bank of the Penna River, and there is also a historical fort situated here. This is also known as the Grand Canyon of India, and improving the state's infrastructure would certainly give it a boost. The government was also trying to make permanent structures here but that did not work out for some reason. Now these constructions will finally get completed, and it is estimated cost is INR 3 crore. Gandikota is also close to the Belum Caves, which has spacious caverns with fresh water and siphons.

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Srinagar celebrates International Mountaineering Day to boost tourism

International Mountaineering Day was celebrated in Srinagar on Saturday with an aim to boost adventure and tourism. A documentary was also created on mountaineering. Rauf Trambu (Renowned Adventure Expert) said, "Due to United Nations, on December 11, International Mountaineering day is celebrated all over the world. Mountains are very close to our hearts. Not only to the people who belong to the mountain regions but also who does not belong. I believe that not only on this particular day but whenever we get an opportunity, we should create awareness about mountains, flora, fauna, etc". Jalal-ud-din Baba (Adventure Filmmaker) said, "Mountains play a very important role in our lives and disruption of which can disbalance our entire ecosystem. So we must all come forward and protect our mountains. He further added, "I would like to advise people not to litter around the mountains while going for activities like trekking, hiking." Tanvir Dar, Guide, "Being a social activist, I would like to say that the water bodies are getting polluted. So I would like to request the youngsters of Kashmir to come forward and save the water bodies because, without water, nothing is possible".

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ATOAI to organise Adventure Connect on a regional basis to boost domestic adventure

In view of the uncertainties that exist in the inbound tourism business because of the continuing Covid-19 scare, the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), the trade body of the adventure tour operators in the country, has decided to focus more on the domestic market for the time being. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association held last week in Delhi has decided to take their flagship Adventure Connect programmes to all regions of the country so as to propel the membership to explore domestic adventure activities in the region and packaging it for the domestic market. “Domestic is, clearly, the way forward,” said Vinayak Koul, Secretary, ATOAI,briefing the general sentiment of the AGM last week. With the new announcement from the government suspending international travel and visa till January end, it is now a foregone conclusion that there will not be any inbound tourism to the country this winter, Koul said. Therefore, In the new market situation, Koul said they will be looking at more quality engagement and educational programs like Adventure Connect in all the regions of the country. He said that looking at the huge untapped potential of the North East region for adventure tourism, Koul said that the association will organise a dedicated Adventure Connect event for the North East at the earliest. Koul said that in his recent visit to the region for the International Travel Mart for the North East organised by the Ministry of Tourism recently, the tourism boards of the North East region had expressed their interest to work together with the association to unlock the adventure tourism potential of the region. The Annual General Meeting passed the accounts for the financial year 2020- 21 presented by ATOAI Honorary Treasurer Pradeep Murthy. The AGM also approved the appointment of Sagar Regmi, SRBP & Associates as the auditor for the Financial Year 2021-22.

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Air India announces additional flights to the US from December 21 under bubble flight agreement

National carrier Air India has announced that it will operate additional flights to the United States from India under the air bubble transport arrangement. The new flights scheduled to fly effective December 21 involves extra frequencies on the exiting flights operational to the US, which is one of the most lucrative routes of the airline. The soon-to-be disinvested carrier, in a statement on Twitter, said that flights in addition to the existing flights operational between India and the US will fully from December 21 to March 25, 2022, until when the winter schedule is valid. According to the tweet, Air India will operate the Delhi- Chicago flight on Wednesdays as well, while the returning flight from Chicago to Delhi will also ply on Fridays. As far as flights between Delhi and San Francisco is concerned, the airline mentioned that the additional flight on the sector will run on Tuesdays apart from the existing flights operational. It said that bookings are open through Air India’s website, booking offices, call centre, and authorised travel agents. The announcement comes amid the huge demand for travel between India and the US. It is worth mentioning that further flight restrictions between both the nations, due to the new Omicron Covid-19 variant, airfares and bookings for the next fortnight, are rising high. Earlier, this month, the US administration announced that the new travel rules imposed by the country for international air travellers, irrespective of their nationality or vaccination status, require them to obtain a negative Covid-19 test within one day of travel, effective December 6. CDC currently recommends post-arrival testing 3-5 days after landing in the US from overseas and selfquarantine for unvaccinated travellers, though compliance is voluntary and is believed to be low.

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Centre looks to sell Ashok under asset monetisation programme

The Centre plans to transfer the iconic Ashok Hotel in Delhi to the private sector on a 60-year contract as part of its asset monetisation programme. It will further offer land parcels in the 21.5-acre complex for the setting up of a hotel or serviced apartments, among other development works.Two land parcels are to be offered on a longer licence term of up to 90 years, sources familiar told TOI, adding that the plan is expected to be cleared by the cabinet shortly. The entire transaction is unlikely to be completed in the current financial year.This parcel includes a 6.3-acre plot, classified as spare land, that can be used for the development of serviced apartments or a hotel and construction is proposed on the side facing the British High Commission. Another 1.8-acre plot is being offered for commercial development with a higher floor area ratio (FAR). The remaining land may be offered to potential bidders and can be a part of the main hotel complex -- an upside for the entity that bags the deal. The winning bidder may choose completely refurbishing, but will not be allowed to make changes to the exterior of the property. Like other PPP projects, the land will come back to the government on expiry of the licence. An analysis by the tourism ministry suggests that there is vast commercial and revenue potential that has remained untapped. The hotel was included in the asset monetisation programme as its performance has remained below par compared with other five-star properties in the Lutyens’ area. The hotel will be offered under the operate-maintain-develop model. Several attempts have been made in the past to sell the iconic hotel, but had to be abandoned due to a string of factors like labour issues, dues, and past contracts.

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