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‘I love you in your madness’: Crisis-hit Lebanon unveils slogan in bid to lure back tourists

Lebanon’s tourism minister has announced a new slogan for the crisis-swept country that aimed to portray the precarity of life there as a point of pride, roughly translating to “I love you in your madness”. Lebanon is suffering a financial and economic meltdown which the World Bank has labelled as one of the deepest depressions of modern history, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and a massive explosion at Beirut’s port that destroyed large parts of the city and killed more than 215 people. “This will be our touristic identity that the world will see,” tourism minister Walid Nassar said at a news conference on Thursday with other senior ministers in Beirut. The slogan was developed cost-free for Lebanon by Dubai-based advertising company TBWA, he said. TBWA chief creative officer Walid Kanaan said it was “near-impossible” to find ways to market a country in the grip of multi-layered economic and political crises, but that he had found inspiration in Lebanon’s people. “This is our country, a crazy country, crazy in its nightlife, crazy in its food and generosity. And no matter how crazy the situation in Lebanon is, we can only say, ‘we love you in your madness’,” Kanaan said, unveiling the slogan. Originally a lyric in a song by Lebanese star singer Fairuz released before the outbreak of Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, the new catchphrase will be displayed on planes of Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines and used in social media campaigns, Kanaan said. The official English translation will be “A crazy love”. Tourism, historically a major component of Lebanon’s economy, has dramatically declined since late 2019. Some 2 million tourists visited the country in 2018, according to the former tourism minister, while media reports citing official figures suggest that numbers fell to a few hundred thousand in 2020.

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Uttarakhand Tourism meets and woos Bollywood in Mumbai

Uttrakhan Tourism Minister, Satpal Maharaj, met leading Bollywood production houses in Mumbai to woo them into the ‘Devbhoomi’, Uttarakhand, for film shooting projects. The meeting was held alongside the International Travel & Tourism Fair where Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) participated showcasing the potential for film productions in the State. Interacting with the film fraternity, Maharaj said that many attractive facilities are being provided under Uttarakhand film policy. “We are continuously working to facilitate and develop more and more infrastructure for producers and directors interested in coming to our state for their film projects,” the Minister said in his interactions with the Bollywood. Since the first film tourism policy came into being in 2015, the state tourism had reviewed and updated the same in the last couple of years to make it relevant for the current times. The state wants Bollywood producers to explore film projects around local folklores, eminent people and villages in the state. Maharaj assured all support in terms of facilitation, incentives, etc., for such projects. “Uttarakhand has immense potential for film shooting. We are always open for producers and directors to come and visit especially the unexplored destination of Uttarakhand. The state has also introduced single-window permission for production houses,” informed Dilip Jawalkar, Secretary - Tourism & Information, Uttarakhand. The state government is looking at developing new locations in Uttarakhand, Jawalkar said. The Uttarakhand Tourism delegation extended an invitation to Bollywood production houses to visit the state and understand themselves the opportunities. Around 33 production houses participated in the interactive meeting with the Minister and his delegation. Some of the prominent names included Dharma Production, Mahesh Kothare, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Balaji Telefilms, Bhansali production, Endemol Shine India, Jio Studio, Salman Khan Ventures, Mx Player, Rajshree Production, etc.

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SATTE now rescheduled to February 16

SATTE 2020 has now been rescheduled to February 16-18, 2022. The show was earlier planned to be held at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR from January 19-21. While announcing the decision to postpone the event, Informa Markets in India said in a statement, “Whilst the decision to reschedule the event was not easy for us, it became unavoidable with a number of industry events coinciding in the same week as SATTE. Besides, the postponement creates the possibility of greater international participation as more borders are expected to open up by then. The SATTE team will reach out to all parties regarding further logistics and planning Informa has also stated that SATTE 2022 will be organised in accordance with Informa’s AllSecure health and safety standards. As part of a cross-industry collaborative effort, Informa has developed a detailed set of enhanced measures to provide the highest levels of hygiene and safety at its events, providing everyone with reassurance and confidence they are participating in a safe and controlled environment. Informa further stated in a release, “We wish to thank all our customers and partners in the travel and tourism sector for their support. Our sole objective is to provide an event of enhanced quality, more exhibitors and qualified trade buyers to make your participation a resounding success.”

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International Flights: Air India Announces Non-stop Flights Between Delhi, Sydney From Nov 15.

Air passengers, who are waiting to fly to Australia, here comes a wonderful news for you. Air India has announced non-stop flight between Delhi and Sydney from November 15. Announcing the full flight schedule, Air India said it will be operating thrice-a-week service on Delhi- Sydney-Delhi sector under the Vande Bharat Mission. The decision from Air India to start direct flights on the said route came after the Australian flag-carrier Qantas announced that it has a plan to launch a new route from Sydney to Delhi on 6 December 2021 with three return flights per week with its A330 aircraft. Australia eases travel guidelines As the country has approached 80 per cent vaccination, Australia decided to remove international travel restrictions related to COVID-19 and planned to safely reopen the international border starting from November Australia recognises COVAXIN Earlier in the day, Australia's medicines and medical devices regulator formally recognised India's Covaxin, a vaccine against the coronavirus as the country's border was reopened for the first time in nearly 20 months. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, and AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India. Australia has already recognised Covishield. "Today, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) determined that Covaxin (manufactured by Bharat Biotech, India) and BBIBP-CorV (manufactured by Sinopharm, China) vaccines would be 'recognised' for the purpose of establishing a traveller's vaccination status, Australia's medicines and medical devices regulator TGA said. This recognition is for travellers aged 12 and over who have been vaccinated with Covaxin, and those 18 to 60 who have been vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV.

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Looking to travel to Hawaii? Here's what you need to know

The U.S. state of Hawaii will accept all vaccinated international travellers under new federal requirements that are set to come into effect Nov. 8. A statement Tuesday from Hawaii Gov. David Ige says non-U.S. citizens travelling directly to the state from an international destination must show both a vaccination record and negative COVID-19 test result – either a NAAT (nucleic acid amplification test) or antigen – within three days of boarding a flight. Airlines will screen passengers prior to their departure. Foreign passengers who fail to meet both requirements will not be allowed to board their flight. However, the state will not apply any other requirements for passengers flying directly into Hawaii from an international destination. Similar rules will apply for U.S. citizens flying to Hawaii internationally. "Thanks to the people of Hawaii for their patience and for taking precautions to keep our communities safe," Ige said in a statement. "Our state continues to see one of the lowest incidences of COVID-19 and death rates related to the virus. As more and more people are vaccinated, we are moving to ease pandemic mitigation measures – including travel restrictions – in a way that ensures the health and safety of our communities." Ige had previously asked residents and visitors to restrict travel to Hawaii to essential activities only. Beginning Nov. 8, travellers on a direct flight to Hawaii will no longer be required to participate in the state's Safe Travels program, which includes the filling of a travel and health form, as well as a mandatory 10-day quarantine. Travellers from Canada could previously bypass the mandatory quarantine if they showed proof of a negative COVID-19 test from a lab identified by Air Canada or WestJet prior to leaving. The airlines are included in the state's list of Trusted Testing and Travel Partners. Tests no longer have to be done with Trusted Travel Partners under the new international federal rules, but are required for unvaccinated domestic travel. Meanwhile, international travellers entering Hawaii from another state or territory will be treated as domestic travellers – meaning they are required to participate in the Safe Travels program. Although a mandatory quarantine is required, domestic travellers may bypass it by uploading a vaccination document or a negative NAAT test result taken by a Trusted Travel Partner within 72 hours of departure. Hawaii will accept vaccines approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in keeping with the federal government's requirements, and vaccines listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization.

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Ayodhya to be largest tourism spot in world: Union minister

LUCKNOW: Union minister for culture and tourism GK Redddy said Lord Ram was revered not just in India but also in Buddhist and Islamic countries and the central and state governments were working to develop as the largest tourist destination in the world. “By 2030 not less than 5 crore people would be visiting the temple town annually,” he said. Speaking as the chief guest at the on Wednesday, the minister, who gave his address in Hindi, pointed out that while he hailed from Hyderabad, he made the effort to speak in the language as Hinduism and Hindi connected him with the rest of the people. Calling August 5, 2020, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the temple, a historic day for the country, he thanked the Ram Temple Trust for making Ram Temple a ‘Rashtriya Temple’. “Crores of families have been linked with this project and this temple will belong to every person. Ayodhya will become a huge tourist spot with better roads and infrastructure and an international airport will connect it with the world,” he said. The minister said that the deepotsav celebrations were a proud testament of Indian traditions and showed the deep love and respect for Lord Ram. The 12 lakh diyas that have been lit in Ayodhya on Thursday symbolised an ‘akhand deep’ for not just India but provided light to the entire world. “Lord Ram is a hero for every person. After completing 14 years in exile, he returned to Ayodhya amid massive celebrations. I can say with confidence that the deepotsav organised by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath is of the same scale as the deepotsav organised in Lord Ram’s welcome. With the lighting of 12 lakh diyas, the world is getting Lord Ram’s message,” he said. He said the CM was working on Lord Rama’s ideals to establish Ram Rajya in UP. He added that the government was ruling without any bias and people were free from any kind of fear. “It is because of his efforts and the vision of Modi ji that Ayodhya is being developed with a new vision and the construction of the Ram Temple has started here,” he said.

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