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Another EU country accepts Covishield vaccine as proof of immunity for travel

The number of European Union accepting the Covishield Covid-19 vaccine as valid proof of immunity of incoming travellers has increased to 19, as Italy has also recognised the vaccine on Friday. The Embassy of India Rome (Italy) on Friday said that Italy has recognised Serum Institute's Covishield. " Indian vaccine cardholders are now eligible for the green pass, " the embassy added in a tweet. Until now, Italy had only recognised these Covid-19 vaccines--Comirnaty – Pfizer; Moderna; Vaxzervria – AstraZeneca, and Janssen – Johnson & Johnson for travel. Now, a total of 19 countries have recognised Covishield vaccine, these include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Covishield, which is the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India, is the most widely recognised vaccine for travel in the EU after those approved by EMA. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is facing severe backlash over its latest international travel advisory. Even though the UK kept Covishield, manufactured by the SII, in its list of ‘approved vaccines’, it kept India in the list of countries whose travellers need to quarantine for 10 days when they reach the UK due to India's vaccination certificate through the CoWIN app, UK officials have said. Alex Ellis, the British high commissioner to India, said "We're clear Covishield is not a problem. We have been having detailed technical discussions regarding certification, with the builders of the CoWIN app and the NHS app, about both apps". External affairs minister S Jaishankar has also strongly taken up the issue. The minister said, "Urged early resolution of quarantine issue in mutual interest," on Twitter.

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Covid: Scotland's international travel testing regime to be relaxed

Fully-vaccinated people travelling to Scotland from overseas will no longer have to take pre-departure Covid tests, the Scottish government has confirmed. The change will benefit Scots returning home from abroad and visitors from non-red list countries. Scotland will also "align with the UK post-arrival testing regime" but details have still to be finalised. Last week the Scottish government said testing requirements would remain due to public health concerns Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said ministers still had concerns, but after talks with the aviation industry they had "reluctantly concluded" that following the UK's path on testing was the "best option". Plans to simplify the international travel traffic light system by merging green and amber classifications and removing more countries from the red list were announced last Friday. Those changes will come into effect on 4 October. Now it has also been confirmed that travellers from non-red list countries who have been fully vaccinated will not be required to provide evidence of a negative test result before travelling to Scotland. However, they must have been vaccinated in a country that meets "recognised standards of certifications". Mr Matheson said the move to align with the rest of the UK came after consideration of the "logistical, health and economic implications". He added: "We have urgently considered all these implications, weighing any possible impact on the public health and the logistical realities. "After liaising at length with stakeholders from the aviation sector to understand the impact of adopting a different approach in Scotland, we have reluctantly concluded that, for practical reasons, alignment with the UK is the best option." Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: "We welcome this decision which will be a huge bonus for Scotland's travel and tourism sector and will provide some much needed confidence for people who need and want to travel." Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS Airports, which owns Aberdeen and Glasgow airports, said: "While this is something we have been urging the Scottish government to do for months, and the subsequent delay has negatively impacted the industry in Scotland, it is a welcome step forward. "By ensuring Scotland has parity with the rest of the UK, this decision is one that will deliver much-needed consumer confidence for our passengers to start travelling again." Dr Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, added: "Divergence in international travel restrictions and testing regimes would have placed Scotland and its airports at a significant economic disadvantage. "This sends a clear signal to the world that Scotland is open for business." Bookings Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com, claimed the firm had seen an immediate surge in bookings for flights and package holidays since the announcement. He said: "We had already seen demand step up following the decision to scrap the traffic light system, however this announcement removes a number of major barriers. "The fact that Scottish holidaymakers will no longer have to take a pre-departure test in resort is a welcome step towards normality." 'Late u-turn' The Scottish government has also said it would consider how "additional safeguards and surveillance of inward travel can be implemented" in a bid to guard against the importation of new variants of Covid. Tory transport spokesman Graham Simpson MSP said: "This SNP climbdown will come as a relief to businesses in Scotland's much overlooked tourism and aviation industries. "However, such a late u-turn means Scottish airports have missed out on any potential recovery that could have been made during the October break."

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Saudis enjoy Red Sea cruises as kingdom opens up tourism sector

Jeddah: Majed Sait and his wife are spending their honeymoon on a cruise in the turquoise waters off Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, a voyage that is still a novelty in the conservative kingdom which only recently began to allow cruise ships to dock in its ports. Foreign tourism inside Saudi Arabia was restricted and opportunities for domestic holidaymakers were limited until Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman began a drive in 2016 to bring social change and diversify the economy away from its dependence on oil. Tourist visas for foreign visitors Since then, Saudi Arabia has introduced tourist visas for foreign visitors and launched a series of tourism projects, including along the Red Sea coast, and the government has said it wants the sector to contribute 10 per cent to gross domestic product by 2030. Jeddah port launched its cruise ship terminal in July. “This is a three-day trip but it has been very relaxing for us and a completely different experience,” said Sait as he and his wife took in the breeze on the main deck of the MSC Bellissima, a cruise ship which can accommodate 2,500 guests across 19 floors. Saudi Arabia rented the MSC Bellissima from its Geneva-based operator MSC Cruises as part of its Saudi Summer campaign designed to encourage tourism from home and abroad. The onboard entertainment, which includes dance shows, concerts and stand up comedians, has been amended to cater for Saudi tourists. “Most of our guests are Saudis or residents in Saudi Arabia... So we have adapted our product from a 100 per cent European offer to a mix with Saudi and Gulf style,” said Mohammed Abdulfattah, events manager at MSC Bellisima. The cruise is also an opportunity for Dalal Mohammed, who booked the trip with her sister, to enjoy some of the new freedoms which came with the crown prince’s steps to dismantle the heavily criticised guardianship system. Women in Saudi Arabia still need a “guardian” - a male relative whose approval they require for various decisions, including marriage and divorce, but they are now free to travel on their own. Five years ago it would have been unthinkable for her to go on a trip with only her sister and no male guardian, Mohammed said. “Although we are travelling in the sea... We still have privacy and we appreciated, that today, we swam in a swimming pool reserved for women, and we took dance lessons for girls only,” she said.

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Goa: ‘Need to exercise caution while restarting tourism’

PANAJI: The Goa chamber of commerce and industry (GCCI) has cautioned tourism stakeholders to take ensure adherence to existing Covid protocols, and said that negligence by hoteliers, tourism stakeholders and the state government would lead to the shutdown of the tourism industry for yet another year. GCCI said that hotels and tour operations staff should be completely vaccinated to ensure the safety of the citizens of Goa as well as visitors. “It is the responsibility of stakeholders to ensure that all precautions are taken to avoid any infection, as negligence on their part would lead to the shutdown of the tourism industry for at least another year,” said GCCI president Ralph de Sousa. GCCI, along with international charter operators, had submitted representations to the state government and had even met chief minister Pramod Sawant requesting him to start international flights into Goa. Six days earlier, Modi announced that international tourists would be allowed to visit Goa. GCCI and TTAG have been campaigning for international scheduled and charter flights to land at Goa International Airport subject to strict Covid norms. Lapses in Covid protocols will lead to a surge in new cases, and the government will have no option but to stop the inflow of tourists, leading to the failure of the upcoming tourist season, said Sousa. He also said that vaccine certificates or negative RT-PCR tests need to be verified at the border and during check-in. “If this is strictly followed, the Goan tourism industry will be back on track and ensure rise in economic growth, which was lost last year,” said Sousa. GCCI also said that the Centre has accepted the demand of industry to extend the timeline for companies to convene the annual general meeting (AGM). Share to Twitter

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Vaccination rules for entry into England clarified

The UK Government has clarified the rules around what vaccinations will be accepted in order to take advantage of the changes to the traffic-light system that come into force in England at 4am on Monday 4 October. The government has announced that arrivals will be considered fully vaccinated if they have received a complete course of jabs: under an approved vaccination programme in the UK, Europe, USA or UK vaccine programme overseas with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines from a relevant public health body in Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan or the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It has also clarified that formulations of the four approved vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, qualify as approved vaccines but only from the countries listed. The Government has also announced that people who have been given two different jabs of the four approved vaccines in any of the approved countries will also be considered fully vaccinated. The rules for fully vaccinated people will also apply for those: under 18 and resident in the UK or one of the listed countries or territories with approved vaccination programmes taking part in an approved Covid-19 vaccine trial in the UK or USA – the Government expects to extend this to other countries "in due course" Travellers must be able to prove they have been fully vaccinated with a digital or paper document issued by a national or state-level public health body that includes, as a minimum: forename and surname(s) date of birth vaccine brand and manufacturer date of vaccination for every dose country or territory of vaccination and/or certificate issuer If the document does not include all of these, the traveller is considered unvaccinated and may be denied boarding. Under the new rules, fully vaccinated travellers do not need to take a pre-departure test, take a day eight test or quarantine on arrival. A day two PCR test is still required although the transport secretary says this is expected to change to a lateral flow test later in October. The new rules have been condemned by some in countries that do not appear on the list, including India, the world’s biggest vaccine producer. Indian politician Shashi Tharoor pulled out of a debate at Cambridge University because of the rules. He tweeted: “It is offensive to ask fully vaccinated Indians to quarantine”.

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Luxury Cruise Ship Cordelia Arrives in Kochi To Grand Welcome As Tourism Sector Reopens

New Delhi: As the Covid-19 situation is somewhat stable in India, the travel sector is slowly improving across the country. Now, in a piece of good news in the post-pandemic world, a luxury cruise ship from Mumbai, Cordelia reached the shores of Kochi on September 22, marking the reopening of the coronavirus-hit tourism sector in the Southern state. Luxury Cruise Ship Cordelia Reaches Kochi From Mumbai And Reopens Tourism in Kerala The luxury liner MV Empress, owned by Cordelia Cruises, had on board over 1,200 travellers from across various states. The on-shore tour will help travellers explore the surreal beauty, beaches and centers of rich cultural and historical significance in the port city. Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said the arrival of domestic tourists marks a promising start to the full-scale resumption of Kerala Tourism, overcoming the pandemic-induced crisis. The luxury line was anchored at Cochin Port and was received by locals with great enthusiasm. The tourists were then taken to Mattancherry and Fort Kochi. “This trend is set to gain pace in the coming days. Kerala is a safe and secure place for the lock-down weary vacationers to come as we have put in place an efficient and meticulous bio-bubble model to create protective layers of inoculated service providers to receive and host tourists,” Minister said.

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