News

To Ease Travel, 96 Countries Agree to Mutually Accept Vaccine Certificates With India, Says Govt

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said that 96 countries have agreed to mutually recognise the vaccine certificates of fully vaccinated travellers with India. The move is seen to ease travel for those vaccinated with Indian manufactured vaccines- Covishield and Covaxin. “At present, 96 countries have agreed to mutual recognition of vaccine certificates and also those who recognise Indian vaccination certificates of travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield/WHO approved/nationally approved vaccines,” a statement of the Health Ministry said. For those who wish to travel abroad, the international travel vaccination certificate can also be downloaded from the CoWIN portal, the ministry said. Among the 96 countries are Canada, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Bangladesh, Mali, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Angola, Nigeria, Benin, Chad, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Finland, Estonia, Romania, Moldova, Albania, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Sweden, Austria, Montenegro, and Iceland. The Health Minister also informed that over 109 crore vaccines have been administered in the country so far. The government is trying to reach out to those unvaccinated through ‘Har ghar dastak’ campaign. “Over 109 crore doses have been administered so far in the country. Under ‘Har ghar dastak’, healthcare workers are going to all houses to carry out the vaccination drive. 96 countries have recognised Covaxin and Covishield. You can see the list via CoWIN app," Mansukh Mandaviya added. The announcement comes a day after UK announced that it will recognise India’s Covaxin jab as an approved Covid-19 vaccine for inbound travel from November 22. The WHO issued an emergency-use listing for Covaxin on November 3 and added the vaccine to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by the health body for preventing Covid-19. The United States has also opened its doors for vaccinated travellers from November 8. Recently, it updated its list of approved vaccines and given green light to those who have been inoculated with Covaxin to enter the country.

Read more

Cuba prepares to welcome travellers from Nov 15 as airports fully reopen

The characteristic bustle of the Caribbean nation is gradually rebounding after 20 months of pandemic restrictions, with the key moment set to occur on Nov. 15 with the start of the full opening of airports, gateways to a tourism industry that feeds thousands of families. Crafts vendors are returning to the streets, transport between provinces is gradually returning to normal and crowds once again line the seafront Malecon boulevard as night falls over the Cuban capital. The characteristic bustle of the Caribbean nation is gradually rebounding after 20 months of pandemic restrictions, with the key moment set to occur on Nov. 15 with the start of the full opening of airports, gateways to a tourism industry that feeds thousands of families.

Read more

Maldives to launch a new marketing campaign to attract travel trade and consumers to the destination

The Maldives has unveiled a new initiative to promote the destination as leading meetings and events option for global travellers. The country’s tourism promotion board is working to position the island-nation as an ideal MICE destination making range of activities available for the corporates, exhibitions, conferences and group tours. Mohamed Thoyyib, Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) during a press conference at the recently concluded WTM London, said that they are going to launch a new marketing campaign to attract travel trade as well as consumers. the campaign will be called ‘The story of the Maldives’ and will focus on bringing the stories of other islands’ culture and folklore to the forefront. Maldives will also offer homestay holidays from January 2022 as part of its strategy to diversify its offering to visitors. Apart from this, the country will be holding a year-long celebration in 2022 marking 50th anniversary of the start of tourism in the Maldives, with events and festivals taking place across the 200-island nation. Maldives had welcomed 500,000 travellers in 2019. Despite being impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, it has already surpassed the one-million mark visitor mark to the nation in 2021.

Read more

UK COVID update: Indians vaccinated with Covaxin will be allowed to enter UK from Nov 22 without quarantine

As per a latest development, the UK Government will be adding Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to its list of approved COVID-19 vaccines from 4 AM, November 22. Thus, from the said date onwards, Indian travellers who have received both the doses of Covaxin at least 14 days before their arrival in the UK, will no longer have to undergo quarantine. Reports also have it that along with Covaxin, the United Kingdom has also added Sinopharm Beijing and Sinovac to its approved list of COVID-19 vaccines. Therefore, travellers who have been fully vaccinated with Covaxin and have received their vaccine certificate will neither have to take a pre-departure test, day 8 test, nor will they be required to self-isolate upon arrival. Reportedly, such passengers will only have to pay for a lateral flow test which they will take before the end of their second day, post-arrival. The UK Government further announced that all those below the age of 18 coming to England will be treated as fully vaccinated at the border, and will also be exempt from self-isolation requirements on arrival, pre-departure testing, and day 8 testing. They will have to pay only to take a post-arrival test and a confirmatory free PCR test if they test positive. Referring to this announcement, UK Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid stated that it’s a step forward for the travel industry, and further added that the red list and quarantine system will remain vital in protecting UK borders, and that authorities would not hesitate to take action by adding countries to the red list if necessary.

Read more

Over 15,000 free tourist visas issued till now

Centre has provisioned five lakh free visas up to March 31, 2022 International travel to India is a bit slow to pick up with just a little over 15,000 free tourist visas being issued so far out of the five lakh visas that were provisioned by the centre. In June 2021, the Ministry of Finance had announced a scheme to offer free tourist visas till March 31, 2022. The scheme was applicable for the first 5 lakh visas that will be issued. A foreign tourist stays in India for 21 days on an average while spending around $34 (₹2,400) per day. According to the official data, 10.93 million foreign tourists visited India in 2019 and spent $30 billion. “We are prepared to welcome back the tourists. Our vaccination programme is doing very well. Besides, all the stakeholders that are part of the tourism eco-system are being fully vaccinated on priority,” said a Tourism Ministry official. Chartered flights Last month, the government announced granting tourist visas to those travelling by chartered flights by October 15 and those by regular planes from November 15. The e-visa for India is available for the citizens of 156 countries. However, currently, China, Canada and Hong Kong are among the countries that cannot avail this facility. “In routine years, tourists come to India between the October and March. So, inflow of travellers is expected from November 15 onwards. Even if we manage to do 25 per cent of our business compared to 2019 levels, it will be a good number for the industry,” said Kapil Goswamy, Managing Director, Trans-India Holidays. According to Tourism Ministry officials, Russian tourists have not availed chartered service due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in Russia. It is expected that the first chartered flight ferrying tourists to India will land in Goa, from the UK, in mid-December 2021.

Read more

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board earns three international awards

Bhopal- Earning international recognition, the rural tourism project of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has been awarded ‘Best Project’ at the (WTM) World Responsible Tourism Awards 2021 function held in London recently. The International Responsible Tourism Center gave this award in the category of ‘Best Post-Covid Tourism Destination Development’. On behalf of the Tourism Board, managing director, State Tourism Development Corporation S Viswanathan and deputy director (Programs & Markets) Tourism Board Yuvraj Padole received the award. Besides, Madhya Pradesh Rural Tourism was also given ‘Gold Award’ at the zonal level. In the ‘Diversity in Tourism’ category, the concept of ‘Safe Tourism for Women’ project of Madhya Pradesh was awarded the Best Project Recognition by WTM. WTM appreciated the efforts being made by Madhya Pradesh in the field of tourism and hoped for the economicsocial change that these projects would bring in future. The ceremony was held in London from November 1 to 3. Expressing happiness over this achievement of the tourism department, principal secretary, tourism and culture, Shekhar Shukla said that it is definitely a matter of pride for the country and the state that Madhya Pradesh tourism has been recognized as a global platform in the field of tourism. “As envisioned by chief minister , Shivraj Singh Chohan it is our endeavor to develop rural tourism in Madhya Pradesh in a better way,” said Shukla. Before conferring the World Travel Mart (WTM) World Responsible Tourism Award 2021, all countries are divided into four zones at the international level. Among them ‘Gold Awards’ are given at the zonal level in India, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. Out of the ‘Gold Award’ projects, the best project is selected and given the ‘International Award’ which will be awarded to MP for the year 2021 under rural tourism.

Read more