News

Indian Premier League comes to Expo 2020

Notable names from the world of cricket gathered at Expo 2020 Dubai today as Rajasthan Royals Group – the owners of Expo-sponsored Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals – launched Next Innings, a digital community for cricket fans. Ashes-winning former England captain Andrew Strauss, cricket broadcaster and former player Simon Hughes and Rajasthan Royals’ lead owner Manoj Badale took part in a question-and-answer session at the Garden on 1: Sports Lounge in Expo’s Mobility District. The subject of innovation of cricket was on the agenda, in the context of the current IPL season and the forthcoming T20 Men’s World Cup – with the UAE playing host to games in both competitions – as well as addressing key issues facing the cricketing world. The Next Innings initiative will tackle topics related to innovation in cricket and sports business, aiming to create a digital community of sports industry professionals and fans who take an interest in the subject. Earlier this year, a partnership between Expo 2020 and Rajasthan Royals was announced for the 14th season of the IPL, which began in India in April and is currently being played in the UAE. As part of the association, Expo 2020 Dubai appears on the front of the Rajasthan Royals’ jersey as principal sponsor, helping to spread the Expo 2020 message to millions of cricket fans all over the world. As part of the Royal’s physical presence at Expo, the team will also host a cricketing coaching clinic. Expo 2020’s sporting programming harnesses the unique power of sport to bring people together across 182 days in of heart-racing, skill-enhancing activities and diverse experiences that will leave a lasting impact on all who participate.

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Mumbai airport all set to reopen T1 domestic passenger terminal from October 20

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has announced plans to reopen its Terminal 1 domestic terminal for passengers from the midnight of October 20. According to the authorities, AirAsia India, Star Air, GoFirst and TruJet will restart operations from here. But some of the IndiGo flights will begin operations from October 31. It was in mid-April that the Mumbai airport stopped all the flight services from Terminal 1 soon after the country was hit by the deadly second wave of the COVID-19. Since then, only Terminal 2 was operational for international connectivity. According to the statement, Terminal 1 will serve approximately 156 flights while Terminal 2 will cater 396 flights approximately on a daily basis. After the vaccination drive quicked in the country and passengers regained their confidence in air travel, the CSMIA decided to re-open its Terminal 1 for domestic flight operations. The announcement was made by the private airport operator in a statement on Monday. Even during the first wave, CSMIA had suspended services of T1 for around seven months and only Terminal 2 was operational for international flights. The statement further said that opening of T1 will also help maintain social distance and ensure passenger safety. Not only this, the airport will also make available all modes of transport for the convenience of the passengers.

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Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai to open this month

Centara Hotels & Resorts will expand its global collection of resorts with the opening of Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai on October 14th. The new family-friendly destination, which is inspired by mythical Thai and Arabian adventures, promises fun-filled, activity-packed stays for all ages. The new resort – a joint venture with master developer Nakheel, creator of the award-winning Palm Jumeirah and the new Deira Islands waterfront city – will bring a new concept in hospitality to Dubai. The property is nestled in a prime waterfront setting on the Deira Islands, overlooking the Arabian Gulf just 30 minutes from Dubai International Airport and minutes away from the newly opened Souk Al Marfa seafront souk. The location offers 607 rooms and suites, ranging from superior, family and mirage rooms to junior and two-bedroom suites with 32 to 95 square metres of bright, contemporary space and panoramic city or sea views. A range of culinary and social venues can be enjoyed at a choice of nine dining experiences. “It gives me great pleasure to introduce Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai, our inaugural resort in the UAE, as we continue to bring our timeless values of Thai hospitality to travellers around the world. “The Centara Mirage concept immerses visitors in a world of wonders, creating unparalleled guest experiences. “This marks another major milestone for Centara in 2021, following the opening of Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne in Vietnam and Centara Reserve Samui, the world’s first Centara Reserve resort in Thailand,” commented Thirayuth Chirathivat, chief executive, Centara Hotels & Resorts. Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai becomes the first Centara property in the United Arab Emirates and represents the third Mirage family-themed resort worldwide. “Our joint venture with Centara Hotels & Resorts is a shining example of our commitment to partnering with reputable, international hotel brands to bring new tourism concepts to Dubai in line with the government’s tourism vision. “We are delighted that one of Thailand’s biggest, most popular hotel operators has chosen to invest in Dubai and help us create another unique offering at Deira Islands,” said Omar Khoory, chief assets officer at Nakheel.

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Tourists throng Nainital & Mussoorie on weekend

A pleasant weather on weekend brought hundreds of tourists to Nainital and Mussoorie from cramped cities, where the weather was still hot and muggy. Most hoteliers and shopkeepers did brisk business, parking lots were full and cars were seen parked on the roads. On Sunday, places like Mall Road, Mallital and high court (HC) road were brimming with tourists. “The first week of October has been very good for us. Most of the hotels in the town are already on 100% occupancy. Almost every tourist spot and square is full and we expect more tourists in the next few days,” a hotel owner said. The tourist numbers also meant that most of the locations in Lake Town were plagued with long jams. “All the entries to the town were choking and saw hours of long jam. The hotel parking as well as parking spots at flats were full and police were having a hard time managing the cars,” said Ramesh Kumar, a local. The district administration meanwhile said that as winters and peak tourist season approach, it will make efforts to smoothen the tourist movement in the next few days. “As Covid cases continue to go down and more and more people are vaccinated across the country, we expect the tourist season in the winters to be very good. Therefore a traffic plan is being devised to ensure that tourists do not have to wait for long to park their vehicles,” said a senior official of the police department. Mussoorie also witnessed a similar situation. Long weekend led to an influx of tourists. Majority of hotels reported 80 to 100% occupancy on Saturday, however heavy influx of tourists also resulted in traffic jams in various parts of the town starting Friday evening. Long queues of vehicles were seen at Gandhi Chowk, Masonic Lodge, Landour and Char Dukan. However, traffic jams caused misery to tourists and they were stuck in the jams for several hours.

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IRCTC to launch another Bharat Darshan Tourist Train, this time from MP on Oct 8

In a bid to promote religious tourism in the country, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is starting a special Bharat Darshan Tourist train on October 8 which will run from Rewa station of Madhya Pradesh to Agra, Mathura, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Amritsar and Vaishno Devi Shrine. According to the IRCTC Public Relations Officer (PRO) Anand Kumar Jha, the main aim to run this train is to give an enhanced experience to explore beautiful historical and devotional places of North India. To provide comfort to the passengers, a boarding facility in this special train will be available from Rewa as well as Satna, Katni, Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Itarsi, Hoshangabad, Habibganj, Vidisha, Ganj Basoda, Bina and Jhansi stations. "The eight nights and nine days tour has been designed keeping in mind the interest of every kind of traveller, who loves fun with devotion and visit old traditional cities of India," he added. He further informed that the company has decided the tour price starts from ₹8,505 per person for sleeper class and ₹10,395 per person for 3AC. In this tour package, passengers will be provided breakfast, lunch and dinner with accommodation in budget hotels or dharmshalas as well as tourist buses. Also, accident insurance up to ₹4 lakhs will also be given to the passengers. During the entire duration of the journey, the IRCTC team will take care of all protocols, related to hygiene and health, and ensure a safe and worry-free experience by maintaining social distancing at all times. To book this journey, it will be mandatory for every passenger to have taken both processes of Covid vaccine and the age limit is 18 years and above. It is worth mentioning that Bharat-Darshan is a joint project of Indian Railways and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, which organises the world's cheapest tour packages from time to time. This is one of the very popular tour packages to explore various destinations, Jha said.

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IRCTC to launch special tourist train for 5 states in NE

The Indian Railways' catering and tourism wing will soon launch a special tourist train to explore five North Eastern states under the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiave, according to news agency ANI. The duration of the journey will be of 14 nights and 15 days. The Dekho Apna Desh AC Deluxe Tourist Train will take passengers to places that are not just far from the crowd but also are untouched, unexplored and unimaginable, according to an IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) official quoted by the agency. A special tourist train for tourism in the North East is the first one of its kind to be operated by the IRCTC. The journey will start from Delhi's Safdarjung railway station and will cover five prominent states, including destinations like Guwahati, Kaziranga and Johnhart in Assam, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Kohima in Nagaland, Una Koti, Agartala and Udaipur in Tripura, and Shillong and Cherapunji in Meghalaya. Ghaziabad, Tundla, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna are other boarding points. The journey will start from November 26. The fare begins from Rs 85,495 per person for AC two-tier and Rs 1,02,430 per person for first-class AC. Only fully vaccinated people can board the journey, the report said. The tour package has a Jungle Safari in Kaziranga National Park in Assam and a track on the Root Bridge in Meghalaya. Travellers will also get a chance to visit the Kamakhya temple in Assam and Tripur Sundari temple in Tripura. A journey over the river Brahmaputra and a tour of tea gardens in Assam have been planned for nature lovers. Una Koti sculptures, Ujjayanta Palace and Neermahal Palace in Tripura have been included for those fond of Indian history and heritage. As per eligibility based on the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance, government employees can avail LTC facility on this journey.

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