News

Foreign tourists may be allowed to visit India soon

Amid a decline in Covid cases in the country, India may soon reopen its doors for foreign tourists for the first time in one-and-a-half years, officials said. First five lakh foreign tourists will be issued visas free of cost, in an attempt to revive the tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors, badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020 when a nationwide lockdown was announced. Top Union home ministry officials are deliberating with all stakeholders on the expected date and modalities for opening up of the country for foreign tourists. A formal announcement allowing foreign tourists to visit India may come within the next 10 days, an official from the Home Ministry said. The decision is being taken in view of the declining number of Covid-19 cases in the country. The free visa to the tourists will be issued till March 31, 2022 or the issuance of five lakh visa, whichever is earlier. The total financial implication for this would be Rs 100 crore. The free visa move is expected to incentivise short-term tourists visiting India, the official said. The home ministry officials said they are still deliberating whether the entry of foreign tourists will be allowed with certain conditions like limiting it to only vaccinated travellers for now and having a negative list of countries where Covid-19 cases remain a concern.

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Kerala to hold Beypore International Water Fest in December

As part of its efforts to revive tourism in the state, the Kerala Government has decided to organise a month-long ‘Beypore International Water Fest’ in Kozhikode district coming December. A meeting convened by Tourism Minister P A Muhammed Riyas engaged in the preliminary discussions in this regard. “The Tourism Department will involve various other departments, local bodies and the district administration of Kozhikode to hold the event,” said Riyas after the meeting. “Preparations to stage the fest in December itself will be completed as soon as possible. A draft plan was presented at the meeting. A detailed master plan will be ready by the end of September and an organising committee will be formed by the first week of October,” added the minister. “This is a new beginning. All possibilities of water sports will be explored at the fest to attract global attention,” Riyas explained Diverse water sports and entertainment events will be arranged along a 10-km stretch of water from the Beypore Pulimutt tourism centre for the fest. The activities will be mainly based on the Chaliyar River. Programmes planned include not only traditional boat races of Kerala but also internationally-recognized events such as kayaking, canoeing, water polo, parasailing, speed boat race, water skiing, powerboat racing, yacht racing, wooden log racing and timber rafting. Olympic aquatic events too may be included, said Riyas. Making the event more attractive for the public, floating musical programmes, light shows and processions by fishing folk too will be organised. Among those who took part in the meeting included Kozhikode Collector Dr N Tej Lohit Reddy, Sub Collector Chelsa Siny, secretary of the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) Beena, other government officials and local body representatives. The draft plan was presented by executive engineer in the Harbour Engineering Department, T Jayadeep.

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Char Dham Yatra to start from 18th September, state government issues new SOP

The Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand is all set to start from today (September 18, 2021), after remaining in suspension for a long time due to COVID-19 crises. As per the reports, the Uttarakhand Government has now issued a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to start the yatra from September 18 with strict adherence to COVID-19 norms. This move comes after a day the Nainital High Court lifted the ban on Char Dham Yatra and allowed only fully COVID vaccinated people to undertake the annual pilgrimage, with a mandatory COVID-19 negative report. Reports have it that the court also imposed a daily limit on the number of pilgrims visiting the Himalayan shrines of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath temples, and stated that devotees need to follow strict COVID-19 protocols. As per the latest SOP issued by the state government, 800 pilgrims have been fixed for Kedarnath, over 1000 pilgrims for Badrinath, 400 for Yamunotri, and 600 for Gangotri. Pilgrims who have not received their first or the second dose of COVID vaccine, a RT-PCR negative report (within 72 hours of arrival) would be required for visiting the four revered shrines. However, those arriving from Maharashtra, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh, where an increase in the number of COVID cases has been registered in the past few weeks, only those pilgrims who have a RT-PCR negative report, and completed 15 days after double dose vaccination, would be permitted. All pilgrims would be required to register themselves at the Smart City portal, and get an e-pass for the pilgrimage, which will remain valid for a period of two days. Also, as per the SOP, pilgrims will not be allowed to stay more than a single night at a dham, whereas bath in the kunds (hot water enclosures) near the temples will also not be permissible.

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Mussoorie is now open to tourists only on weekends

If you have been planning to visit Mussoorie, take note of the latest travel updates issued by the state government. In the wake of rising Coronavirus crises, the Uttarakhand government recently announced extension of lockdown in Dehradun till September 21. Earlier, the lockdown was supposed to remain in place September 14. The state government, issuing a fresh order, stated that it will allow tourists to visit Mussoorie only on weekends, provided that they are able to show a negative COVID test report that is not older than 72 hours before their arrival. Further, the travellers will also have to register themselves on Dehradun Smart City only portal, and provide proof of hotel booking in Mussoorie. Sharing more details regarding travel rules, District Magistrate R Rajesh Kumar informed that fully vaccinated tourists will not be required to mandatorily present a negative COVID-19 test report. However, all those who are unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated, it will be mandatory to provide negative reports, he added. Further, no one will be allowed to enter rivers and ponds in Sahastradhara, Guchupani and Mussoorie, the District Magistrate informed. Those visiting Mussoorie during this time will, however, need to follow all COVID-related protocols, such as wearing a mask all the time, maintaining adequate social distance, and others. Reports have it that parking of vehicles will not be allowed post 5 pm on Mall Road till September 21. As per the latest orders, spitting has been banned in public places, and a fine of INR 500 to INR 1000 will be imposed on those found violating the rules.

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Indonesia may reopen to tourists from some countries in October, says minister

JAKARTA, Sept 17 (Reuters): Indonesia may allow foreign tourists to start returning to the popular resort island of Bali and other parts of the country by October after a sharp slide in COovid-19 cases, senior minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Friday. The South-East Asian nation intends to move cautiously to reopen its borders following a devastating second virus wave, driven by the Delta variant. Luhut, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, said the addition of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had dropped by 94.5% since a peak in mid-July. "We are happy today that the reproduction rate is below 1... It is the lowest during the pandemic and is indicating the pandemic is under control," Luhut told a news conference. Other positive signs included the national hospital bed occupancy rate falling below 15%, while the positivity rate, or the proportion of people tested who are positive, was at less than 5%, he said. Luhut said if the trend today continued "we are very confident" that Bali could be reopened by October. South Korea, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand, are among countries the government is considering accepting foreign nationals from first, given the low virus spread in those nations, he said. Indonesia's health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told Reuters earlier this week that reopening to foreigners also hinged upon 70% of the target population receiving their first Covid-19 shot. More than 21% of the targeted 208 million have been fully vaccinated, while almost 40% have received their first shot, according to health ministry data. Malaysia this week reopened its Langkawi island to domestic visitors, while Thailand has opened Phuket and Samui islands to vaccinated foreign tourists and Vietnam's idyllic Phu Quoc island plans to follow suit. Indonesia has grappled with one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia, recording over 4.1 million cases and 140,000 deaths, although public health experts believe the true figures are likely several times higher.

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Pathankot’s Kathlaur Kushlian Wildlife Sanctuary thrown open to tourists

Located along the Amritsar-Jammu bypass in Pathankot district, the sanctuary is spread over 1,867 acres and has a dense forest resembling a closed canopy. Developed as tourism hotspot at the cost of ₹1.2 crore, Kathlaur Kushlian Wildlife Sanctuary, 25km from Pathankot, was thrown open for the tourists on Thursday by the department of forests and wildlife preservation, Punjab. Located along the Amritsar-Jammu bypass in Pathankot district, the sanctuary is spread over 1,867 acres and has a dense forest resembling a closed canopy. The sanctuary also features open grasslands and has several water bodies that serve as watering holes for the animals and birds that inhabit the area. Divisional forest officer, wildlife, Pathankot range, Rajesh Mahajan: “The sanctuary had tourism potential, but we did not allow public to enter. Then Pathankot deputy commissioner Sanyam Aggarwal, who is taking initiative to promote tourism in the district, granted ₹1.2 crore from District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for its development as tourist destination. The development has been executed under the supervision of principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Rama Kant Mishra.” “The sanctuary has three zones—eco-sensitive, buffer and core zone. We can only allow people to visit first two zones as per the guidelines as the core zone is a safe home for animals. In the zones thrown open for public, we have provided facilities such as drinking water, washrooms, passage, rain shelters to the visitors and introduced tourist attractions,” he said. The 5km-long nature trail passing through dense jungle is an attraction for nature lovers. An 11-seater pollution-free and soundless vehicle, also called as golf cart, and 10 cycles have been provided to the visitors to visit the sanctuary as private vehicle is not allowed. There is an island in the middle of a lake that has fish and ducks and bamboo huts are an added attraction. As cafeteria is also situated on the island, the tourists can enjoy the dishes here, Mahajan said. There are 30-ft tall two watch towers from where the tourists can have a view of the forest and the Ravi. Two activity points have been developed for children. Mahajan added that nominal entry fee will be charged from visitors and the money collected from them will be spent on the operation of the facilities provided at the sanctuary and maintenance through outsourcing under the supervision of local public committee. The sanctuary falls in the Bhoa constituency of Pathankot. Local MLA Joginder Pal said: “I make an appeal to the tourists to cooperate with the forest and wildlife department while visiting the sanctuary. They should not bring plastic and make any noise on seeing animals.” The sanctuary is home to several species of deer, including cheetal, sambar, hog deer and barking deer. There are also several varieties of avifauna that can be seen in the area like the partridge (grey and white), white humped vulture, parakeet, spotted owl, etc. This is home of thousands of national bird peacock.

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