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India Asks UK To Review The Ongoing Travel Ban

Indian foreign secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the UK Foreign Office has now been briefed regarding the covid situation in India. India is hoping that the UK will be encouraged to review the travel ban from India. Shringla said that many Indian cities are almost free of COVID at this point. The Foreign Minister arrived in the UK for a two-day visit. India is currently on the red list of the UK, therefore, travel is banned from India to the country. The Foreign Secretary during his visit mentioned that here in India, cities such as Delhi, and Mumbai, and practically COVID-free, and that the country is taking all measures to avoid a third wave. Delhi reported 66 new covid cases in the last 24 hours, while Mumbai reported 413 new cases during the same period. The country is going through a decline in the number of infections after the horrific second wave, but citizens are ought to take special care as restrictions begin to relax. The Foreign Secretary briefed UK officials on the COVID situation in the country while pointing out that France had cleared visitors from India, and that too, without quarantine for fully vaccinated passengers. The US too has upgraded India in terms of travel, from no travel to consider travel in its advisory. Currently, because India is in the red list, which basically bans Indans from travelling to the UK, while returning travellers are required to quarantine for a period of ten days. With a decrease in the number of infections in India, travel to the UK could soon be possible.

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Indian students worried over EU travel restrictions

Rhea Bhansali is a recipient of the prestigious Erasmus Mundus scholarship, awarded by the European Union Commission, for a dual master's degree in hydro informatics and water science management. Her two-year course is spread across four universities in Europe -- Spain's UPC, Newcastle University in UK, Germany's BTU and UNS France. But Bhansali's excitement over starting her course is turning into disappointment as her country of entry into the EU -- Spain -- is not processing student visa applications since India is on the red list of countries facing travel restrictions by EU members. "The scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study the subject of my choice. I'm worried that if the indefinite travel ban on Indian students is not lifted by the Spanish embassy, I will lose out on the scholarship -- which cannot be deferred," Bhansali, who has got her first master’s degree from New York University, said. She returned home to Mumbai last year when the Covid-19 pandemic made things tough for Indian students in America. Her classes start in September and involve a great deal of laboratory work, which makes it impossible to start online. Divya Sinha, too, has received a scholarship from the EU to study in Spain under the Erasmus Mundus mobility programme for the 2021-2023 cohort, but is now unable to plan her travel due to travel restrictions. "As most European universities prepare to go back to in-person learning in 2021, we are likely to miss enrolment to our courses and lose the scholarships -- most of which are set to begin around August-end and September -- without any provision of deferring them," she said. Sinha is a graduate in pharmacy from Delhi University, and is set to join the University of Barcelona for a master's degree in vaccinology in September 2021. Although the Council of the EU has recommended that "travelling for the purpose of study" as a category be exempt from the travel ban, entry requirements including vaccine regulations and visa processing delays are hurting students from India. "We have been selected through rigorous and highly competitive procedures, and have invested an immense amount of time and effort to secure the opportunity, missing out on it is a big blow to future prospects and careers," a worried Sinha said. Many budding researchers who have secured jobs and funding in universities across Europe are also not able to start work due to the travel ban, she added. Some European countries have started processing student visas in India in a limited way. The German Embassy in New Delhi, for instance, has started accepting applications and processing some student visas. Indian students who want to pursue doctoral, post-doctorate or master studies and have a binding, unconditional admission letter from a German university or have been awarded a full scholarship by an official German institution can now submit their application for a German national visa directly at the service provider VFS Global, thus skipping the wait time for an interview appointment at the German mission. The Embassy of France is also allowing travel to France for Indian students who are vaccinated. "You may travel to France only if you provide proof of a completed vaccination schedule. Only vaccines authorised either by the European Commission or the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM) are accepted for this purpose," a spokesperson of the Embassy of France in New Delhi said. "The vaccination schedule is considered to have been completed 28 days after the administration of one dose of the Janssen vaccine and seven days after the administration of a second dose for other vaccines (Pfizer/Comirnaty, Moderna, AstraZeneca /Vaxzevria /Covishield)."

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Saudi Arabia to reopen for tourists vaccinated with approved jabs from 1st August

Saudi Arabia will on Sunday reopen its borders for fully vaccinated foreign tourists after a 17-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. "The Ministry of Tourism announced that the Kingdom will open its doors to foreign tourists, and lift... the suspension of entry for tourist visa holders, starting from August 1," the Saudi Press Agency reported, according to AFP. Travellers who are fully vaccinated with Saudi-approved jabs--Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson, will be allowed to enter the country "without the need for an institutional quarantine period", Saudi Arabia's tourism ministry said. Those wishing to obtain a tourist visa can apply through the Spirit of Saudi website--visitsaudi.com. The travellers will not be required to undertake the mandatory quarantine period if they show an official vaccination certificate upon arrival, along with the proof of PCR test with a negative result within 72 hours from the time of departure. "Visitors to the Kingdom are also required to register their data related to vaccination doses via the new electronic portal dedicated to this, “muqeem.sa/#/vaccine-registration/home", in addition to registering their data via “Tawakkalna" application, which is mandatory to enter public places," the state media added.

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Govt keen on tapping tourism potential by exploring new trekking routes

The government has initiated several steps to boost adventure tourism activities across Jammu and Kashmir and already several steps are afoot to tap that potential by exploring new trekking routes. The remarks were made by Secretary Tourism and Culture Departments, Sarmad Hafeez while flagging off a group of working professionals from Mumbai and local NGO for sanitation and cleanliness drives along Great Lakes Trek in collaboration with the Tourism Department. Speaking on the occasion, Sarmad Hafeez said that Jammu and Kashmir has vast potential for tourism activities and adventure tourism has been given priority. “The government has opened new trekking routes across J&K to give a boost to adventure tourism and several other steps have been initiated to tap that potential,” he said. Highlighting the government initiatives to make tourism activities more secure, he said the department has vaccinated more than 90 percent tourism stakeholders to prepare them to deal with the challenges of Covid-19 besides employees of department and other allied workers have also been inoculated. He said the department is in the process of organizing capacity building programmes on implementation of Covid protocols for all the stakeholders associated with the sector at tourist places like Dal Lake, Pahalgam, Gulmarg and other destinations. Remarking about tapping the tourism potential to its fullest, Sarmad Hafeez said the department is identifying, exploring and developing hidden and virgin tourist destinations here to provide visitors with more options for recreation and adventurous activities. Meanwhile, during the week-long trek, the group would conduct sanitation and cleanliness drives along the famed trekking route. The group will move from Sonmarg to Thajwas and will cover places like Naran Nag, Kishen Sar, Vishen Sar and Gangabal. The Tourism Department has provided all logistic support to the group for the purpose. The members of the group include professionals, businessmen, researchers, bankers from Mumbai who have undertaken the cleanliness drive along the trek in collaboration with a local NGO. Speaking on the occasion, Director Tourism, Kashmir, Dr. G N Itoo said the department has initiated several initiatives to tap the potential of lesser-known destinations and in future more such activities will be carried out to make each and every place attractive for tourists. Senior officers of the department and a large number of volunteers were present on the occasion. Later, the Secretary Tourism held a meeting with various tourism stakeholders. He impressed upon them to uphold the highest traditions of hospitality for which Jammu & Kashmir is known for. He asked the tourism stakeholders to welcome the tourists with open arms so that they go back with good memories. He asked them to keep watch on hoarding and over charging so that the tourists don’t face any inconvenience and are facilitated at each level. The Secretary further said the government is doing hand-holding of stakeholders on all fronts so that they are able to cope with the challenges of post-Covid business environment.

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How does a UNESCO World Heritage rating affect a tourist destination?

This week, all eyes have been on UNESCO, the France-based body that bestows the ranking of "World Heritage Site" on some of the world's most beautiful, historic and otherwise important places. In many years, the announcement of new additions to the UNESCO list is a cause for some excitement, at least in the travel world. But 2021's announcement season has been significantly more dramatic. First, the will-they-or-won't-they tug of war between Australia and UNESCO over the latter's discussion of whether to add the Great Barrier Reef to the official list of "sites in danger" turned into a full-on soap opera, complete with ambassadors going on a press junket. Ultimately the Barrier Reef escaped the "in danger" designation, while the city of Liverpool had its status revoked completely, which UNESCO said was "due to the irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value of the property." With all the fuss around who will make the cut and who won't, there's one question that hasn't been answered: Does UNESCO designation really make a difference with travelers? How to define heritage With 1,153 World Heritage sites on the list, travelers shouldn't expect a one-size-fits-all approach. "Heritage" can be defined in a lot of ways, and UNESCO splits sites into three categories: cultural significance, environmental significance, or a combination of both. Among the thousand-plus names on the list are some of the most beloved places on the planet: Machu Picchu, Venice's canals, the Grand Canyon, Angkor Wat. The nomination process is painstaking, time-consuming and expensive. Many developing countries have sites that can and should be recognized for global importance, but they can't afford the time and money it takes to put together a campaign. "The minimum duration between nomination and inscription is two years, but it usually takes much longer," a UNESCO rep explains to CNN. "Countries must first inscribe a site they intend to nominate on the Tentative List, which is submitted to UNESCO. They then have to complete a nomination file which must contain information about the site's attributes and the management and protection mechanisms put in place for the site." And just because a nomination has been submitted doesn't mean the journey is over. Plenty of destinations don't get inscribed on their first try. UNESCO can send back notes or suggestions on how to improve a nomination. Some languish in the "under consideration" file for years. Not everyone considers these designations, or large-scale investments in tourism infrastructure, to be a priority. Some governments don't see the value in trying to nominate their sites, while others seek UNESCO listings the way they might chase Olympic gold medals.

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Sri Lanka lifts inter-provincial travel ban as Covid-19 vaccination accelerates

The Sri Lankan government lifted the three-month-long inter-provincial travel ban across the country on Sunday as the vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) picked up pace, news agency PTI reported. However, the inter-provincial travel at present is only given to government employees on official duty, senior health official Asela Gunawardena said. The government also allowed the resumption of public bus services from Sunday while train services would resume from Monday. Officials told PTI that crowding in these transport services is not allowed. “We will allow buses to take passengers strictly limited to their seating capacity,” state public transport minister Dilum Amunugama. This will be the first time that public transport will be operational across Sri Lanka since late April when the government imposed tough travel curbs due to a massive spike in Covid-19 cases following the Sinhalese New Year. The lifting of the travel bans and resumption of public transport in the country comes days after the government said on July 30 that it was ending work-from-home for all government employees despite no improvement in the ongoing pandemic situation. PB Jayasundera, the current secretary to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said there was no need for government employees to work from home as the majority of them had been vaccinated.

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