News

Wyndham Varanasi Katesar now open

Savitri Sales Private Limited, a company manufacturing a diverse range of products and services in Varanasi, today announced the opening of Ramada by Wyndham Hotel in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Katesar area of Varanasi, Ramada by Wyndham Varanasi Katesar is close to Ramnagar Fort and Ganga Ghats, offering views of the popular ghats of Varanasi with great connectivity from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (32 Km), Varanasi Railway Station (13 km), Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction (8 km). Spread over four acres, the hotel offers 68 guest rooms with great amenities including a lobby lounge, an all-day dining restaurant, and an upcoming rooftop specialty restaurant, as well as a spa, Loon for get-together area, outdoor swimming pool and a fitness area. The hotel will also boast multiple meeting and event spaces including a lawn area for outdoor events as well as a Business Centre. “We are extremely happy to partner with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts under the fast-expanding Ramada by Wyndham brand and look forward to setting high service standards in the city of Varanasi and look forward to welcoming guests to our exciting new property,” said Pradeep Chaurasia, Chairman Managing Director, Savitri Sales Private Limited. “Varanasi is an important destination in India and we are excited to open our second hotel in the City of Ganges under our popular Ramada by Wyndham brand. This opening will further strengthen our presence and offering in Uttar Pradesh and North India and support in continuing our growth momentum across the region,” added Nikhil Sharma, Regional Director Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts EMEA. Ramada by Wyndham Varanasi Katesar will provide more than 120 jobs to the Varanasi city.

Read more

Accor confirms recertification of ALLSAFE across hotels in India

Accor has confirmed all 55 Accor properties in India, across brands including Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, Pullman, Mövenpick, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure and ibis, have received the ALLSAFE global certification to ensure guests of their safety and wellbeing as they resume travel. Throughout 2020 and 2021, more than 50 Accor hotels had already received the ALLSAFE global certification to ensure compliance with the new set of cleanliness protocols. All complying hotels have been recertified this year, recently opened properties including Raffles Udaipur, Novotel Chandigarh Tribune Chowk and ibis Mumbai Vikhroli have also been certified. “We are humbled by the trust and confidence our guests have shown us during the past year,” said Puneet Dhawan, Senior Vice President Operations India and South Asia. “With the holiday season approaching, our hotels across the country eagerly look forward to host guests as they gear up to celebrate time with family and friends. We are already witnessing encouraging signs of recovery and we are confident that the ALLSAFE protocols will further encourage guests to travel, albeit cautiously, and put their trust in Accor.” The ALLSAFE programme is designed to reassure guests with an all-encompassing set of procedures responding to new consumer behaviours and expectations around a safe experience. The ALLSAFE label certification has been developed with and vetted by Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspections, and certification. It is based on a range of guiding principles and commitments and consists of over 200 standard operating procedures, keeping cleanliness and safety at the centre of all policies. Additionally, every hotel has a designated ALLSAFE officer who ensures seamless implementation of all guidelines, 24*7.

Read more

India, ADB sign $61 million pact to boost urban services in Agartala

Through this project, ADB will catalyze synergies with the smart city components being implemented in Agartala through an underground utility corridor. The central government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $61 million loan to improve livability, harness technology, and promote new developments to accommodate the expanding population in Agartala city while building capacity of state agencies for improved service delivery. Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, signed the pact on behalf of Government of India, while Mr Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, signed for ADB. After signing the loan agreement for Agartala City Urban Development Project, Mishra stated that the project is aligned to the vision of Centre's Smart City Mission to upgrade urban infrastructure services and will improve livability in Agartala with provision of better road connectivity, flood resilient measures and making tourist places more attractive. “Through this project, ADB will catalyze synergies with the smart city components being implemented in Agartala through an underground utility corridor with shifting of electrical lines, incorporating elderly, women, children, and differently abled responsive features, improving road geometry along with urban design interventions," said Konishi. He further added that the provision of an asset management and sustainability strategy, capacity-building of tourism operators and livelihood improvement of street vendors and artisans, will serve as a model to other assets and tourist attractions in Agartala, and other cities in the state of Tripura. The project will build and upgrade 48 kilometers (km) of new or existing storm water drainage and construct 23 km of climate-resilient urban roads. Other interventions would include renovating open spaces and creating water recreation and lakeside walkways in the Maharaja Bir Bikram College lake and the Ujjayanta Palace which are major tourist attractions in the city. Developing Agartala’s central and north zones as models of area-based development following the principles of smart city mission initiative is expected to have a ripple effect on other parts of the city and nearby cities and towns by making urban areas more livable, citizen-friendly, resilient, and sustainable.

Read more

PM Modi inaugurates redeveloped Rani Kamlapati Rail Station; says country now moving from VIP to 'EPI' culture

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and dedicated to the nation the redeveloped Rani Kamlapati Railway Station in Bhopal on Monday. The prime minister is in Bhopal on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, celebrated on the birth anniversary of the tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda. These include the gauge converted and electrified Ujjain-Fatehabad Chandrawatiganj Broad Gauge section, third line in Bhopal-Barkhera section, gauge converted and electrified Mathela-Nimar Kheri Broad Gauge section and electrified Guna-Gwalior section. Besides, Modi also flagged off two new MEMU trains between Ujjain-Indore and Indore-Ujjain. Governor Mangubhai Patel, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present on the occasion. Speaking at the occasion, Modi said “Not only has this historic railway station been redeveloped, but with the linking of the name of Rani Kamlapati of Ginnorgarh to this station, its importance has also increased. Railway's pride is now linked to pride of Gondwana." He said that six years back those who had some work with Indian Railways used to be seen cursing it. "Crowded stations, filth, hours of tension while waiting for trains, inconvenience of seating-eating facilities, filth inside trains, tension of safety used to come to mind when railways were spoken of," he said. "People had lost hopes of any change in situation. They had made peace with it. But when a nation makes up its mind, then changes take place certainly. We have been seeing this in the past few years," he said, adding that the country is now moving from VIP culture to EPI (Every Person Important). “Today the country's first ISO certified railway station has been inaugurated. The country's first PPP model based railway station has been dedicated to the nation. The facilities which were once available in the airport are now available in the railway station,” he said. He added that there was a time when railway infrastructure projects took years to see the light. But today Indian Railways is bent on not only making new plans but also completing them on time. Earlier, even if the railway was used for tourism, it was confined to a premium club. For the first time, the common man is being given the divine experience of tourism and pilgrimage at a reasonable amount. Ramayan circuit train is one such innovative effort, the prime minister said. The Indian Railways is not only a medium to connect distances, but it is also becoming an important medium to connect the country's culture, tourism and pilgrim spots. For the first time after so many decades of independence, this potential of Indian Railways is being explored on such a large scale, Modi said. Rani Kamalapati Railway Station Rani Kamalapati Railway station, named after the queen of Bhopal's Gond kingdom, is the first world-class railway station in Madhya Pradesh, which is redeveloped under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. This railway station has been designed as a green building with modern world-class amenities that also takes into account the ease of mobility for the physically challenged. The station is revamped as a hub for integrated multi-modal transport, according to officials. The redeveloped Rani Kamlapati Railway station, named after brave and fearless Queen Kamalapati of the Gond kingdom, is the first world class railway station in Madhya Pradesh. The station is also developed as a hub for integrated multi-modal transport.

Read more

Thailand bay made famous by 'The Beach' is finally set to reopen

Officials in Thailand have announced a reopening date for one of the country's most famous attractions. Maya Bay, a beautiful cove made famous by "The Beach" -- a 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio -- will reopen to tourists on January 1, 2022, according to a statement issued by Thailand's Department of National Parks. But unlike the many attractions that have been reopening in recent months, Maya Bay's initial closure had nothing to do with the pandemic. The popular destination has been off limits to tourists since June 2018 as officials embarked on a rejuvenation program aimed at reviving the popular area's decimated corals. On a CNN visit to the area several weeks prior to its closure, visitor numbers multiplied by the minute as boats poured in and out of the bay. Many visitors to the area were day-trippers from Phuket, which is less than an hour's ride away by speedboat. According to official figures, the bay was receiving an estimated 5,000 visitors per day on average in 2018. "Maya Bay has been continuously receiving interest from tourists around the world. But this has also caused (the natural area) to deteriorate, especially the corals," said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-Archa in the statement issued November 14. "After shutting down Maya Bay to revive and restore it, up until the present, it has returned to a good condition." New entry rules The reopening comes with several caveats. Boats will not be able to enter the bay. Instead, drivers will have to drop passengers off at a pier set at the back of the island away from the famed cove. Only eight speedboats will be allowed to dock there at a time, and visits will be capped at one hour, with a maximum of 300 tourists allowed per round, from 10 a.m.-4p.m daily. In the statement, Varawut said the government is now working to finish the new piers and set up designated areas for water activities, which will be ready for the January 1 reopening. Originally, officials said Maya Bay would be closed for just four months. But they extended the closure by an additional two years, citing the need for more time to replant coral in the bay and expand the island's visitor facilities. Presently, boats are allowed to enter the outer limits of the bay. Maya Bay's shores are off limits, but visitors can still view the beach from their boat. Snorkeling in the front of the bay in designated zones is also still permitted. Thailand reopens to vaccinated travelers On November 1, Thailand relaxed its quarantine restrictions for travelers who have stayed a minimum of 21 days in one of 63 approved "low risk" countries and territories -- including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, India and Canada. Incoming fliers who meet the updated requirements only need to stay one night in a government-approved hotel while they await the results of a Covid-19 test administered upon arrival. Tourists who aren't fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine must quarantine in a pre-booked, government-approved hotel for 10 days upon arrival. The reopening comes on the eve of Thailand's tourism high season. In a statement issued in mid-October, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the relaxation of restrictions was needed to allow Thailand to take advantage of travelers hoping to visit during upcoming winter holidays. "We must act quickly but still cautiously and not miss the opportunity to entice some of the year-end and New Year holiday season travelers ... to support the many millions of people who earn a living from our tourism," he said. Prior to the pandemic, tourism contributed around 15% of Thailand's GDP, according to World Bank figures.

Read more

Cambodia reopens to fully vaccinated foreign travelers to boost tourism

Cambodia has announced that fully vaccinated foreign travelers can visit the kingdom without quarantine from Monday, giving a boost to the pandemic-hobbled tourism industry. Travel restrictions imposed to tackle the pandemic put the brakes on Cambodia's burgeoning tourism industry - revenue plummeted to $1 billion in 2020, down from nearly $5 billion in 2019, when the country attracted 6.6 million visitors. Prime Minister Hun Sen made an unexpected announcement on Sunday night that all fully vaccinated international travelers, tourists and businesspeople could visit the whole of Cambodia freely without quarantine from Monday. The decision overrode the previous reopening plan, under which popular beach spots Sihanoukville and Koh Rong, as well as Dara Sakor were set to welcome visitors from November 30. And the reopening of Siem Reap - the gateway to the world heritage-listed Angkor Wat complex - is brought forward from January. Hun Sen said travelers would have to show two negative COVID-19 tests - one taken no less than 72 hours before travel and one on arrival in Cambodia. "When they arrive and we see they have received two doses of vaccine, we will take swabs for rapid tests. After results show they are free of COVID-19, they are allowed to travel across Cambodia," Hun Sen said in an audio message posted on his Facebook page. "I order the ministry of health, the ministry of tourism and relevant sectors to implement these measures from November 15, 2021 onward," he said, adding that the move was a quick way to reopen the country. Hor Sophea, a tour guide at Angkor Wat, welcomed the move. "It is a positive step for the survival of our tourism," she told AFP. Unvaccinated travelers will have to quarantine for 14 days, Hun Sen said. Cambodia was spared the worst of the pandemic in 2020, but has recorded the bulk of its nearly 120,000 cases since April in 2021. The country has won praise for its swift vaccination program - 88 percent of its more than 16 million population have been fully jabbed.

Read more