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Oman Approves Covaxin Shots For Travel Without Quarantine

"All passengers from India who have received two doses of Covaxin at least 14 days before the estimated arrival date will now be able to travel to Oman without the requirement of quarantine," read the press release of the Indian Embassy. Muscat: The Government of the Sultanate of Oman on Wednesday added Indian-made Covaxin to the approved list of COVID-19 vaccines for travel to the country without quarantine. "COVAXIN has now been added to the approved list of COVID-19 vaccines for travel to Oman without quarantine. This will facilitate travellers from India vaccinated with COVAXIN," tweeted the Embassy of India in Muscat. "All passengers from India who have received two doses of Covaxin at least 14 days before the estimated arrival date will now be able to travel to Oman without the requirement of quarantine. All other COVID-19 related requirements/conditions, such as pre-arrival RT-PCR test shall be applicable for such passengers," read the press release of the Indian Embassy. This notification will significantly ease travel to Oman for Indian nationals who have taken Covaxin. Passengers who have taken AstraZeneca/Covishield are already permitted to travel to Oman without quarantine. Covaxin, India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, is developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Emergency Use Listing has decided that additional clarifications from the manufacturer are needed to conduct a final EUL risk-benefit assessment for global use of the vaccine.

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Hyderabadis ready to scout exotic travel destinations

After spending the last couple of years indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic, over 75% of denizens are keen on travelling in 2021, revealed a survey. While Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh, Rajasthan, Andamans and Goa are favourite domestic destinations, when it comes to international travel, many from the city are planning to to Maldives, Mauritius, Thailand, Europe and West Asia among other destinations. The data from Thomas Cook (India) Limited, which was released on Tuesday, revealed that strong travel desire from Hyderabad’s customers resulted in a 65% month-on month increase in demand. “Hyderabad/Telangana customers have been showcasing a growing travel appetite with 75% eager to travel and explore. A survey from the firm revealed that over 75% of respondents from Hyderabad are keen to travel in 2021 itself. While 66% prefer international destinations, 81% prefer domestic holidays. In the survey, 55% of Hyderabadis said that they enjoy travelling with families, 20% as a group of friends/colleagues, 20% as couples, and 5% said they enjoy taking solo trips. The representatives from the firm said that the upcoming festive and winter session together with Expo 2020 Dubai is resulting in encouraging recovery. They said that domestic recovery has been amazing as they have seen 3X increase in bookings in September 2021 as against September 2019. International travel is seeing a good demand as well as many countries have opened up and are allowing vaccinated people with little or no restrictions, they added.

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New Delhi declared the third best capital city for holiday, according to a study

New Delhi has been placed in the third position as the best capital city for a holiday, according to a study conducted by luggage storage firm, Bounce. The world-wide study included 69 capital cities across the world. It has been reported that the study looked at certain factors to come to the inclusion. These include, cost of hotel and transport; number of attractions; restaurants; and average temperatures and rainfall. New Delhi has been ranked among other world capitals such as Valletta, the capital of Malta, which is on the top position, and Abu Dhabi, which is on the second spot. Valletta earned 6.74 points out of 10, Abu Dhabi earned 6.24 points, while New Delhi on third spot earned 6.6 points. It was found that New Delhi has a total of 12409 cities. According to the study, the average cost of hotel in the city for a night is USD 101.87, around USD 35 less than the average cities of all cities. According to a statement by Cody Candee, CEO and Founder of Bounce, “India’s capital New Delhi ranks as the third best capital city for tourists in our study. Rich in history and culture, architecturally beautiful and an amazing place to shop, it is not surprising that New Delhi ranked in the top three capital cities to visit on vacation." Valletta was declared the capital city with the highest number of attractions, and restaurants, while Luxembourg City was found to have the cheapest public transport. London was judged as the most Instagrammable city in the world, with 151 million hashtag mentions. Paris on the other hand had 120 million hashtag mentions on Instagram.

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Post-Covid tourism surges in Madrid

The central square in Madrid's iconic Plaza Mayor is buzzing with tourists and locals alike — despite the fresh memory of Covid-related restrictions and one of Europe's harshest lockdowns. From the party island of Ibiza to the beaches of Mallorca all the way to the streets of Madrid, Spain has always been a favourite European destination for travellers of all ages. And while heavy restrictions on nightclubs were still in place earlier this month (including a mandatory closing time of 3 a.m. for all late-night establishments), many visitors still came to Spain's capital city to dance at least most of the night away. Stephan Neumann and Kristina Prodanovic, both 35, are on a road trip through Europe — from Cologne, Germany, all the way to Lisbon, Portugal. On their way back to Germany, they stopped in Madrid to release their inner night owls. "For us in Madrid, we wanted to go out and experience the nightlife here," Prodanovic told DW.

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Cambodia announces phased reopening to vaccinated tourists

Cambodia's government announced plans Tuesday to reopen the country in several stages to fully vaccinated foreign tourists starting from the end of next month. The program beginning Nov. 30 will allow visitors who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to skip being quarantined if they stay at least five days in designated areas, the Tourism Ministry announced. The first such areas are two seaside provinces, Sihanoukville and Koh Kong, on the Gulf of Thailand. On arrival, visitors must show proof they have been vaccinated and take a rapid results test for COVID-19. They can proceed without quarantine if the results are negative. Siem Reap province, home to the famous Angkor temples, is to be added to the quarantine-free province list in January. Other destinations will then be added if the program is judged successful, with the entire country opening up when the coronavirus is considered under control. Cambodia in 2019, before the pandemic, received 6.6 million foreigners who accounted for nearly $5 billion in revenue, and most of them visited Angkor and seaside destinations, according to the Tourism Ministry. In 2020, the number of visitors dropped sharply to 1.3 million, and earnings from them plunged to about $1 billion. Cambodia recorded 112 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, its lowest number since April, bringing its total since the pandemic began last year to 118,000. This story has been corrected to show that the reopening to tourists program begins at the end of November, not this month.

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Australia to remove international travel ban for fully vaccinated citizens from Nov 1

In big breaking news, Australia has announced to lift its international travel ban from its fully vaccinated citizens and permanent residents from November 1. Now, the citizens would be able to travel internationally without requiring any special exemption or permission. The decision comes after Australia eases COVID-19 restrictions amid a spike in vaccination numbers. The big decision comes after Singapore on Tuesday said it would allow fully-vaccinated travellers from Australia a quarantine-free entry from November 8. It’s been nearly 18 months that the Australians were not able to leave the country and travel abroad without a government waiver. On the other hand, thousands of fully-vaccinated residents had to live abroad because they were not allowed to return due to COVID-19. Karen Andrews, Home Affairs minister, said, "Before the end of the year, we anticipate welcoming fully vaccinated skilled workers and international students''. She also said that for some non-citizens, travel restrictions would be eased as vaccination rates increased. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the local press, “The national plan is working … (it) is about opening Australia up and that is because the vaccination rates are climbing so high.” During the outbreak, Australia was at a better place as compared to several other nations. Last year on March 20, Australia became one of those countries to levy some of the toughest border restrictions in the world. All the flights in the country were grounded and all the attractions were shut down. Given its strict restrictions, the country till now has reported only 164000 COVID-19 positive cases and 1669 deaths.

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