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Goa, London, New York and Germany top booked leisure destinations around the world: OYO World Tourism Day report

Commemorating World Tourism Day 2021, global hospitality brand OYO has released the ‘Unlocking Travel Report 2021’ featuring insights on global consumer travel and booking trends. As travellers across the world start travelling with several countries reopening borders, the company’s analysis has revealed most popular leisure travel destinations around the world. According to OYO’s data on travel preferences across different geographies, Goa, followed by Jaipur, Manali, Ooty and Mysore are India’s top booked leisure destinations for the upcoming holiday season. The booking data shows that Indian travellers prefer hill stations, followed by heritage cities and beach destinations for leisure tourism. OYO's consumer survey states that 37 per cent travellers have a preference for mountains, 33 per cent for beaches in India. Rest remaining 14 per cent prefer visiting motorable places (or roadtrips), followed by heritage cities and pilgrimages. In India, vaccinated staff and sanitisation protocols at properties are the top two factors that consumers keep in mind before deciding their next travel destination and accommodation. For the upcoming long weekend of Dussehra and Guru Nanak Jayanti, the consumer survey reveals that travellers are opting for holidays across India’s leisure destinations - with Jaipur topping the list, followed by Goa. During the Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi long weekends, OYO saw a spike in bookings for leisure destinations. Ganesh Chaturthi’s travel demand was mainly driven by Jaipur, Pondicherry, Ooty and Mysore. As per OYO’s zone-wise booking data, Goa is the most popular travel hotspot in the west, whereas the Himalayan hill station of Manali is a favorite in North India. Across South India, Mysore tops charts as the most popular holiday destination. Nestled among the mountains, Darjeeling emerged as Northeast India’s favourite destination for leisure travellers. It is also observed that almost 57 per cent travellers prefer making bookings closer to the travel day. This is a striking shift from the pre-Covid era when travel was extensively planned and bookings were made weeks or even months in advance in India. In the UK, there’s a high preference for travel over short weekend breaks, followed by school holidays and business trips. Americans, on the other hand, choose to explore local destinations and new experiences, followed by solo travel. It is also observed that in the US, hygiene and cleanliness are a top priority for travellers. OYO has observed a surge in searches for local tourist destinations such as Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in Malaysia. Among other destinations in the Southeast Asia, there’s a jump in SME and essential travel across business cities in Jakarta and Bandung in Indonesia with partially relaxed lockdowns.

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Covid-19: India extends international flight ban until October 31

The Indian civil aviation regulator on Tuesday extended the ban on international passenger flights until October 31, 2021. However, the ban is not applicable to cargo flights and those approved by the regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). All scheduled international flights to and from India were banned from March 2020 following the Covid-19 pandemic. The flight ban has been extended towards the end of every month since then by the regulator. However, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has signed bilateral air bubble agreements with several countries. India has formed air bubble pacts with around 25 countries, including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Rules stipulate that those special international flights can be operated by their airlines following an air bubble pact between two countries, irrespective of the travel ban, which initially came into place on March 22, 2020. Direct connectivity has finally resumed between India and Canada after almost five months from September 27. The United States will re-open to air passengers who have received Covid-19 vaccines from China, India, and UK, among other countries, from early November. Earlier, the US eased its travel advisory for India on August 16, 2021, lowering it to level 2, which is considered as safe, following significant improvement in the South Asian country's Covid-19 situation. The UK had moved India from its "red" to "amber" travel list from August 8 onwards. The validity of Indian visa or stipulated period of stay for foreign nationals who have been stranded in India due to the pandemic has been extended till October 31. Travellers from India have been allowed to fly to 49 cities across 18 countries since September under the air bubble arrangements. India requires travellers from the UK, the EU, Middle East countries, South Africa, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe to provide PCR negative reports and undergo PCR test upon arrival.

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Delhi CM Kejriwal launches app to help tourists plan trips. How it works

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has launched an app that contains comprehensive information about all the historic and tourist spots of the national capital. Through the app, travellers can also book tickets and plan their tour around Delhi. "The tourists who want to visit Delhi can now plan their tour by using the ‘Dekho Mere Dilli’ mobile app. They can plan their entire tour on one platform. They can even buy tickets for the places they want to visit in the national capital," said Kejriwal on Monday. The CM said that the app has all the information about eating joints, fun places, historic sites, entertainment venues in the national capital while adding that the tourist can also locate places within 5 km with the help of the app. "With this, we have the hope that the tourism sector in Delhi will get a boost. People from all around visit here and they face difficulties in getting information about these places. So this app will help tourists," said Kejriwal. He further urged everyone, including the people of Delhi, to download the tourism app "Dekho Mere Dilli". Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the app will help the tourist to plan their complete journey. "Dekho Meri @ArvindKejriwal launched the Delhi Tourism's mobile app today. Our Govt strives to give tourists from all over the world the best experience when they visit Delhi. Now tourists can plan their complete journey from this one app," he said in a tweet. He further said through this app we can tell people coming to Delhi about the places in the city. The flavour of tourism is associated with happiness, if there is tourism, then there is happiness and if there is happiness, then there is tourism. When we named this app, Dekh Meri Dilli, it seemed that we were making an invitation card. The average time tourist stays in Delhi is one and a half days and our effort is to convert it into two and a half days," he said. "When I was given the responsibility of this department, the CM had instructed me to work keeping in mind three types of people. First, those who are coming to Delhi for some work, we can tell them about the places of Delhi, secondly, those who are coming to see Delhi, we can tell them what are the options and thirdly the people of Delhi, who themselves wants to go somewhere with his family," said deputy CM.

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Rajasthan launches mobile app for tourists, unveils guidelines for homestays and river cruise tourism

To facilitate tourists visiting Rajasthan, the Rajasthan government has launched a mobile application on World Tourism Day where the tourism officials announced that many activities and new schemes are in the pipeline to put the desert-state back on the global tourism market in the next six months. The state government also announced new guidelines on homestays, experiential tourism, adventure tourism and river cruise tourism. While there are several websites providing information regarding tourism in Rajasthan, the official application will give reliable and real time information. Schemes and promotional activities of the tourism department will be promoted through the application. On the occasion, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot said that his government is taking all possible efforts to make tourism flourish in the state. “Greetings on World Tourism Day. Rajasthan is a wonderful amalgamation of its royal grandeur, colorful festivals, historical forts and palaces, wildlife and hospitality. The state has immense tourism potential. With efforts from the tourism department and support of stakeholders, we are working hard to promote tourism in the state." State Tourism Minister, Govind Singh Dotasara shared that the government is making several efforts to enhance the tourist experience in the state and rural tourism is very significant to showcase Rajasthan's traditions, culture, and way of living to the tourists. He informed that the government will soon launch a new policy to launch rural tourism. Recently, the Rajasthan state assembly also passed a new bill which now makes misbehavior with tourists a cognizable offence, whereas the government has already setup two Tourist Police Station in Jaipur and Udaipur to help travellers report any mishap. Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary – Tourism, Government of Rajasthan said that the state tourism department is planning a number of promotional activities to promote state in both domestic and international markets. “We are focusing a lot on digital marketing including promotions on social media. To connect with industry stakeholders, we are planning many activities and new schemes in the next six months. If Covid-19 situation remains conducive, we will go forward and organise Great India Travel Bazaar (GITB) in Jaipur around March-April 2022. We are also going ahead with Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart in February 2022 while we will also be launching small, localised travel marts in Jodhpur and Udaipur. We will also organise a five-day Shekhawati festival in December 2021 promoting the lesser-known destinations in the region. We are also working on improving the services on the Palace on Wheels,” she mentioned.

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Ladakh Tourism opens the Siachen base camp for domestic tourists

Ladakh Tourism’s official Twitter handle has tweeted announcing that the Siachen base camp is now open for domestic tourists. The timing could not have been any better as the announcement came a day before World Tourism Day 2021. The Siachen Glacier is the highest battlefield in the world, and the base camp is a wonderful opportunity to explore this tough terrain, yet beautiful destination. The opening was marked by flagging off the first batch of tourists to the Siachen base camp in the presence of Ladakh MP, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal. It was flagged off by Chief Executive Councillor, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, Tashi Gyalson. The Siachen Glacier is situated in the Karakoram range close to the LoC with Pakistan. A very important strategic point for the army in India, it has gained widespread reputation as the highest battlefield in the world as a result of the Siachen Conflict. The Siachen Base Camp experience is an eye-opener for anyone who wishes to have a high altitude experience. It is a different side of the Union Territory of Ladakh. The Siachen trek is however one of the most challenging treks in the country, and is not for everyone. Starting from Leh, the trek takes you to some of the most baffling terrains in the country. Nonetheless, it is breathtakingly beautiful. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for adventure lovers.

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India Tourism to organise events to promote tourism in India and abroad as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and DoNER has said that the Tourism Ministry will organise events both in India and abroad to attract tourists into India as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations (75 years of Indian Independence). These events will be planned and rolled out in the next two years in different places. The Union Minister was speaking at the World Tourism Day function organised by the Ministry of Tourism in Delhi. The Tourism Minister said that in India these events will be planned and organised at 75 iconic heritage destinations through the next two years when India celebrates 75 years of Indian independence on August 15, 2023. Saying that the industry has taken a bashing due to pandemic, Reddy said that efforts are on to bring the industry back on track. The Prime Minister himself has convened meetings in recent months on revival of tourism, the Minister said. Reddy further added that discussions are on with related ministries and departments of the government on reopening of international flights and e-visa as well.

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