News

India restarts 2018 agreement permitting visa-free travel for Maldivians

The 2018 Dec Visa Exemption Agreement between the Maldives and India was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 border closure. Indian government recently announced that it will re-open for tourists from October 15 With several Covid-19 relaxations coming into play as cases see a decline across countries, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid on Sunday said he is delighted that India has agreed to resume the 2018 Dec Visa Exemption Agreement between the two countries, under which no visa will be required for Maldivians travelling to India. The 2018 Dec Visa Exemption Agreement between the Maldives and India was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 border closure. Taking to Twitter, Shahid informed that from mid-October the Maldivian nationals will be exempt from visa requirements for tourists, medical and business purposes. "Delighted that India has agreed to resume the 2018 Dec Visa Exemption Agreement between the Maldives & India, which was temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 border closure. From 15 Oct 2021, Maldivian Nationals will be exempt of visa requirements for tourists, medical & business purposes," Shahid tweeted. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for considering the request to resume the agreement. "Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi and EAM @DrSJaishankar for the favourable consideration of the request," he wrote in a subsequent tweet. The High Commission of India in the Maldives also took Twitter and said that no visa will be required from mid-October for Maldivians travelling to India. "NO VISA required from Oct 15 for Maldivians travelling to India for Medical, Business & Tourism purposes. Maldives will be the 1st beneficiary of VISA FREE TRAVEL since COVID restrictions were imposed by India in Mar 2020. This move restores the bilateral visa-free agreement of Dec 2018," the High Commission of India in the Maldives tweeted. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all visas granted to foreigners were suspended last year. Various other restrictions were also imposed on international travel by the Central government to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maldives has been open -- with some suspensions -- for tourists since July 2020. Sri Lanka opened to fully vaccinated tourists last month. Meanwhile, Indian government recently announced that it will re-open for tourists from October 15 after being closed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tourist visas will be granted for foreigners arriving on charter flights from October 15, and on other flights from November 15, the home ministry said in a statement. It stressed that all Covid-19 protocols "should be adhered to by the foreign tourists, carriers bringing them into India and all other stakeholders at landing stations".

Read more

Singapore and South Korea to jointly launch quarantine-free travel for vaccinated travelers

SINGAPORE — Quarantine-free travel between Singapore and South Korea will start from Nov. 15 for vaccinated travelers, the city-state’s transport ministry announced Friday. The two countries agreed to launch a so-called “vaccinated travel lane,” which allows vaccinated travelers to enter Singapore from South Korea, and vice versa without serving quarantines. Instead, travelers will have to take Covid-19 tests to ensure they are not infected with the virus. It is the “first of its kind between two major aviation hubs in Asia,” the press release said. Transport Minister S Iswaran said the travel arrangement reopens general travel between Singapore and South Korea after some 20 months of disruption. “This is another milestone as we re-open Singapore’s borders, and resume air travel in a careful and calibrated manner,” Iswaran said. As part of the agreement, travelers will have to fly between Singapore’s Changi Airport and South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. More details will be announced soon, the transport ministry said. In September, Singapore started similar arrangements with Brunei and Germany, allowing conditional travel for inoculated visitors from both countries, and establishing the country’s first vaccinated travel lanes. Singapore is also in talks with the U.S. about a possible travel lane between the two countries, Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s minister for trade and industry, said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event in Washington DC on Thursday. “We are now working on a VTL with the U.S. as soon as possible, and certainly before the end of the year,” he said, according to prepared remarks.

Read more

India likely to relax quarantine rules for UK travellers after Covishield move: Report

The Union ministry of health will issue fresh guidelines for travellers coming to India from the United Kingdom as the UK government on Thursday amended travel rules for Indians and said people vaccinated with two doses of Covishield will not be required for quarantining. Citing sources, news agency ANI said the order will be issued soon. The UK government took time to consider Indians double-vaccinated with Covishield as fully vaccinated people. In its new travel rules that came into effect from October 4 onwards, it said it recognises Covishield but not the vaccine certificate given in India. Hence, people vaccinated with Covishield arriving in the UK after October 4 had to undergo 10-day mandatory quarantine. India took a likewise measure and made quarantine mandatory for passengers coming to India from the UK, while both countries remained engaged in talks over easing the travel restrictions. On Thursday, British high commissioner in India Alex Ellis said the UK government has revised the travel rules and from October 11, Indians vaccinated with two doses of Covishield will no longer be required to quarantine. India is likely to announce similar measures before October 11. The UK-India travel tussle has been going on for the past few weeks after the UK government's new travel rules, which drew flak from India. India termed the rules as discriminatory as Covishield, manufactured by Pune's Serum Institute of India, is just a formulation of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine. India had also exported Covishield to the UK, the government said. When the UK side said that it does not have any problem with the vaccine, but with the vaccine certificates, India said its vaccine certificates generated by Co-WIN maintains international standards. India's restriction on UK travellers was a retaliatory move as the government had earlier warned foreign nations. India has so far not imposed any restriction on vaccinated people coming from any other country.

Read more

Indians top foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has welcomed 13,547 foreign tourists in September 2021, of which 8,528 were Indians who topped the list of arrivals to the island nation, as easing of border restrictions, gradual containment of the pandemic, and promotion of air tickets to Indian tourists boosted inbound travel, the tourism authority said on Friday. As of September 30, 2021, Sri Lanka hosted 37,924 tourists, down 92.5 per cent from 507,311 between January and March, 2020. “Easing of border restrictions, the gradual containment of the pandemic and promotions on air tickets especially for Indian tourists could be the likely factors that influenced the growth in arrivals contraction in arrivals after the month of April,” the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said in a report. The spike in tourists for September can be observed following the sharp contraction in arrivals since April this year, the period when the country was ravaged by the devastating third wave, the authority said. In late August, Sri Lanka had resumed its tourism campaign in India by opening its borders for fully vaccinated travellers’ from the country. Sri Lankan Airlines started four weekly flights to Chennai, three to Mumbai, and one to Bengaluru, whilst restarting operations with one flight a week between Colombo – Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum, and Cochin. A connecting flight was also scheduled to operate between Colombo, Hyderabad, and New Delhi with two flights in a week. The airlines also launched a 'Buy One, Get One Free Ticket' campaign for Indian travellers. From September 28, Sri Lanka removed the on arrival PCR tests required for the fully vaccinated. On October 1, Sri Lanka lifted the nationwide lockdown that was imposed 40 days ago to arrest the rising number of COVID-19 cases but restricted the non-essential travel as a precautionary measure. The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit the country in mid-April when healthcare services started running out of their capacity.

Read more

Air Force Museum inaugurated at Akkulam Tourist Village

Thiruvananthapuram: An Air Force Museum, built in the shape of an aircraft, was opened at a village near here on Friday. Kerala Tourism Minister P A Muhammad Riyas inaugurated the Flight Simulator Museum (Air Force Museum) set up by the Department of Tourism with the technical support of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Akkulam Tourist Village, coinciding with the 89th Foundation Day of IAF. Kadakampalli Surendran, MLA and Air Marshal J Chalapati, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Air Command, were present. The museum, which takes the visitors through a simulated flight experience and has several other riveting features, has been built at a cost of Rs 1.97 crore This project will be beneficial not only for Akkulam and the capital district but for entire Kerala Tourism. The museum gives an opportunity to know more about Indian Air Force. The aircraft-model museum and the flight engine will be a novel experience for visitors," Riyas said. A Defence spokesperson said the idea of building a museum was conceptualized at Southern Air Command in 2018. In a short period, in early 2019, it reached a stage where 'go ahead' signal was given. The project was conceived by Kerala Tourism in collaboration with Southern Air Command of IAF, whose headquarters is located close to the tourist village, to create awareness among the visitors about IAF and the importance of national security. The museum was completed in two phases. In the first phase, around Rs 98 lakh was spent for land scaping and creating flight model structure. In the second phase, administrative sanction for Rs 99 lakh was given for the construction of museum interior and other related works. The two-floor aircraft-model museum has all the most modern facilities. A flight cockpit model with simulator and restroom facilities have been set up on the ground floor. The top floor has a Motivation Room for giving inspiration to visitors, photographs depicting the glorious history of IAF and an exhibition of IAF machinery, a Kerala Tourism release said.

Read more

Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi reopens its gates for devotees from 7th Oct

One of the most revered shrines in the country, Shirdi Sai Baba Temple has reopened its doors for devotees from October 7. The temple has been shut for several months due to the pandemic. But now that the pandemic situation is better, the Maharashtra government decided to open the Sai Baba Temple along with several other religious places in the state on the occasion of Navratri. Situated in the small town of Shirdi, the Sai Baba Temple is nearly 250 km from Mumbai. The temple is run by Sai Baba Sansthan Trust and witnesses a huge number of devotees every year. But given the pandemic situation, the trust has said that devotees will have to register themselves on their official portal if they wish to offer prayers in person. New rules The trust has capped the number of devotees to 15000 who can visit the temple in Shirdi from October 7. The management also stated that the devotees with online passes will only be allowed to go inside for darshan on a daily basis. Besides, the temple has banned the entry of kids below 10 years, pregnant women, senior citizens above 65 and sick people. Devotees will have to wear masks all the time and maintain social distance. Meanwhile, the prasad counter will also remain closed. 1) Only 15000 devotees are allowed inside the temple daily. 2) Only 5000 paid passes, 5000 online passes, and 5000 offline passes will be issued. 3) Only 1150 devotees are allowed inside the temple premises at any hour. 4) Maximum of 90 devotees allowed inside during the aarti. 5) Fixed entry from Gate number 2, and exit will be through gate numbers 4 and 5. 6) The Dhyan Mandir and Parayan Kaksh will remain closed. The government has also reopened the Mumba Devi Temple but only fully vaccinated devotees. Those unvaccinated will have to present their PCR negative certificate.

Read more