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Uttarakhand Govt Expects Tourism To Recover To Pre-COVID-19 Level Next Year Onwards

With the gradual easing of restrictions on movement and the national vaccination drive in full swing across the country, the Uttarakhand government expects tourist footfalls to gather momentum and reach the pre-COVID-19 levels 2022 onwards. "Even with the restrictions on the number of visitors in certain destinations due to the pandemic, we are witnessing full bookings. "Therefore, looking at the current demand we are expecting the tourist footfalls to gather momentum after the vaccination drive and the sector is likely to reach pre-Covid levels 2022 onwards," Uttarakhand Tourism secretary and Uttarakhand Tourism and Development Board (UTDB) CEO Dilip Jawalkar told PTI. However, the state is taking precautionary measures and seeing the further possibility of a third wave this year, he noted. In 2019, the state had hosted 1.9 crore visitors, of which 34 lakh were pilgrims, Jawalkar stated. "We receive a good amount of religious and spiritual travellers visiting from across the country as well as overseas. Therefore, our travel and tourism sector doesn't take much time to recover." "We saw this happening after the devastation in 2013. After the devastation, we recovered fast as the demand rebounded. But, we took some time to restore the supply that matched the demand," he said. Pilgrimage and spirituality are still top on the list but the adventure enthusiasts and solitude seekers have also started to explore the state for an adrenaline rush, Jawalkar noted. "There is also a good scope for adventure tourism in Uttarakhand and we want our state to be a service provider. We want to boost adventure sports. "We are witnessing a good footfall from Mumbai every year. Budding travellers and trek enthusiasts visit Uttarakhand to seek adventure and we want to promote our unexplored destinations for this purpose," he said. The state, he said, is also looking at promoting Uttarkhand film tourism as a niche segment. He added that the state offers the best film policies for the producers and directors, including making films tax free that have more than 50 per cent or more outdoor shooting in the state, 50 per cent discount provided on rest houses for units during the time of shooting among others.

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Beach tourism in Udupi gains pace

With fresh Covid cases ebbing and vaccination coverage high, most beaches in Udupi district, including the Padubidri End Point, have registered a massive rise in footfall. Weekends draw the most crowds. Water sport activities have resumed, while food stalls have reopened at Malpe beach and St Mary’s Island. Sudesh Shetty, a leaseholder representing Mantra Tourism Development Company at Malpe beach, said tourists are arriving in large numbers. “On Sunday, there were about 6,000 visitors to the beach,” Shetty said. “We are redeveloping to meet tourists’ requirements and work on upgrading infrastructure is in progress. This work was delayed as the sea was rough last week due to the cyclone. We hope to complete all work before the Dasara holidays begin.” Currently, Malpe Beach Development Committee is upgrading 16 cameras (eight each in the parking area and the beach). The ferry service connecting Malpe beach and St Mary’s Island was launched about 10 days ago. Sign boards are being placed and a swimming area at Malpe beach has been identified and will be marked soon, Shetty said. Malpe beach has about five dedicated lifeguards besides 30 men who manage the water sport activities. These 30 also double as lifeguards. “Lifeguards are on alert and on Sunday three tourists were rescued from drowning at Malpe beach,” he said. This season, various water games like jet-skiing, banana rides, zorbing, beach kayaking and parasailing have been introduced. “While Malpe beach is seeing huge crowds, the number of visitors to St Mary’s Island is yet to pick up,” Shetty said. “Last weekend, the ferry made about six trips (65 passengers each) between the beach and the island.”

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Bali to open its doors to international tourists from October

Bali, the beautiful Indonesian province known for its pristine beaches, coral reefs, volcanic mountains and rice paddies is all set to open its famed tourism sector after a pandemic induced lull. Indonesian tourism minister Sandiaga Uno informed that the island province would welcome international tourists from October onwards. The government said that even though they had planned to open Bali earlier itself, everything have fallen into place only now. The minister had announced the decision to open Bali after attending a high profile meeting held at the Tourism Polytechnic on September 24. Officials from various government departments also attended the meeting to discuss about the guidelines and protocols. Meanwhile, the minister added that discussions regarding the reopening of the borders are progressing. He said that the country has successfully been able to survive the deadly second wave of COVID-19. Earlier, Maritime and Investment coordinator Minister Luhut Binsar had said that the Bali. The government had decided to reopen the tourism sector in Bali after receiving a report from Cok Ace, deputy Governor of Bali, about the pandemic situation in the island. The number of COVID-19 cases has fallen significantly in Bali due to the efficient handling of the pandemic by the administration. Even though it has been announced that Bali would be opened in October, any dates or other details aren’t known. It is not clear whether the island administration would announce a list of countries from where the tourists would be allowed enter Bali. Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that only fully vaccinated tourists would be allowed to enter Bali and that they might have to undergo special tests at the island province. Bali is one of the 33 provinces governed by Indonesia. It is often hailed as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The beautiful landscapes and the unique cultural heritage make Bali a desirable tourism hub. Known for its traditional art forms, amazing sculptures and impressive bio diversity, Bali is also called the ‘Island of Peace’, the ‘Island of the Gods’ or the ‘Island of Love’. Every year, millions of tourists from around the world, including India, visit Bali. However, Bali had suffered severe financial crisis after the tourism sector was badly hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Arunachal Pradesh reopens for travellers

Arunachal Pradesh state government has announced to reopen the state for travellers in a move to promote tourism in the region. As per the reports, travellers who are fully vaccinated, with both the doses of approved COVID-19 vaccine, will be allowed to enter the state. Further, the state government also passed an order, stating that the issuance of Inner Line Permit (ILP)/ Restricted Area Permit/ Protected Area Permit shall be resumed with immediate effect under existing rules and regulations. ILP is an official travel document that is issued to Indian citizens, who are keen to visit restricted/protected areas or states including Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram for a limited period. Likewise, the Foreigner (Protected Areas) Act is required by foreign travellers to obtain a Protected Area Permit (PAP) to visit certain areas in India, including Arunachal. Reportedly, this decision will prove beneficial to hoteliers, tour operators, homestays, cab operators, and all tourism-related stakeholders as they have been facing economic hardships due to the suspension of the permits. Therefore, in a bid to reopen the tourism sector, the state government issued orders to withdraw suspension on issuing Protected Area Permit and ILP to travellers as the COVID-19 situation in the region is under control. Moreover, the administration will also issue an advisory on COVID appropriate behaviour for travellers.

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COVID travel update: Kerala introduces new quarantine rules for oversea travellers

In a recent development, the Kerala government has announced new quarantine rules for international travellers. The announcement was made by the Health Minister Veena George wherein he said that starting Monday, travellers visiting Kerala from the UK will have to undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine at home or destination address. The new rules are on the basis of Union Health Ministry guidelines. On the other hand, those coming from South Africa, Brazil and Europe will have to undergo a 7-day quarantine mandatorily on arrival. As per new rules, international passengers will have to take three PCR tests to enter Kerala, first, 72 hours before the journey, second upon arrival at an airport, and the third will be done eight days after arriving in the state. The minister further informed that all travellers coming from foreign lands irrespective of their vaccination status will have to get RT-PCR tests done upon reaching the airports in the state. Also, people from other countries will have to self-monitor for 14 days if their result comes negative. Not only this, the sample of passengers coming from the United Kingdom, China, Botswana, South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, any of the European nations, Middle East countries, Bangladesh, Mauritius, and Zimbabwe will be further sent for virus mutation tests. Apparently, the UK government had imposed a 10-day quarantine for Indians. In retaliation, the Indian government also decided to impose the same restrictions on the travellers coming from the UK.

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Australia gearing up to lift travel ban from November

Australia has outlined plans to lift the travel ban for international flights from November, after a prolonged period of 18 months. This move comes as nearly 80 per cent of the population, aged 16 and older, has been fully vaccinated. As per the reports, the nation imposed some of the toughest restrictions to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. This latest step was recently announced by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison; however, as of now, no official date has been declared for welcoming international tourists back. Reportedly, since Australia imposed one of the most strict restrictions on March 20 last year to tackle the virus, Australians had to argue for rare exemptions from the travel restrictions. Reports have it that many people failed to fulfil their commitments just because Australia was trying to keep COVID-19 disease at bay. Only those who were essential workers or government employees were exempted from the travel ban, whereas tourism was not accepted as a reason to cross the border. Referring to the tough times, the Australian Prime Minister added, “We've saved lives. We've saved livelihoods, but we must work together to ensure that Australians can reclaim the lives that they once had in this country.” Revealing more about the latest plan, the Prime Minister stated that New South Wales will likely become the first state to reach the 80 per cent vaccination benchmark, whereas Sydney's airport will be the first to resume international flights. Meanwhile, Sydney-based Qantas Airways has already announced that international flights to London and Los Angeles would restart operations from November 14.

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