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Odisha offers an exciting adventure with the launch of the Hirakud cruise

Travellers would be thrilled to know that they can experience cruises in the Hirakud reservoir in Odisha starting from August. The reservoir lies close to the Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, and together the two will create a thrilling new experience for travellers. The site is all set to become a major eco-tourism hub that will involve the local community. According to forest officials, the Hirakud cruise is going to be part of a package. This package includes bird watching, and wildlife sightseeing. The Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is widely known for great experiences, sightseeing, and more. Animals regularly visit the reservoir to drink water, and this will be a great opportunity for tourists to see animals in the wild, in their natural habitat. Anshu Pragyan Das, the Divisional Forest Officer of Hirakud Division said that every batch will contain eight tourists, and they will get an hour’s time to cruise the reservoir. Das also said that locals are being trained to be part of the programme, and more importantly, the eco-tourism spots are being managed by the local communities. This is because they are the ones who help to conserve the forest, and in turn reap the benefits. The Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is also looking forward to untap the vast potential of the three islands here, sunset island, cattle island, and the island of bats. All this sounds like a great adventure is on the cards for visitors in this part of Odisha. Each island presents a unique opportunity to see the natural attractions of this area.

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Maharashtra to relax travel norms for double-dose vaccine recipients, restaurant timings to be eased as well

Amid a looming third wave of the coronavirus outbreak, the Maharashtra government is of the opinion that people who have been administered both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine should be permitted to travel. “The restrictions that were brought four months ago have been slowly relaxed. Our ministers feel that people who are vaccinated with two doses should be permitted to travel,” Maharashtra Minister Aslam Shaikh said. Furthermore, timings in restaurants could also be increased, and a decision will be taken soon regarding all other relaxations. The state reported 6,258 new Covid-19 cases and 254 deaths on Tuesday, taking its infection tally to 62,76,057 and death toll to 1,31,859, the state health department said. On Monday, 4,877 new cases and 53 deaths were recorded. The Mumbai region reported 1,023 new infections and 39 fatalities, including 344 cases and five fatalities in Mumbai city alone. Pune region reported 2,356 fresh cases and 44 deaths, including 222 new infections and 2 deaths in Pune city. Kolhapur logged 1,578 new cases, followed by Nashik at 808 cases, Latur with 342, Aurangabad with 97 cases, Nagpur with 30, and Akola region with 24 cases. However, Hingoli district, along with the Parbhani Municipal Corporation area did not report any new infection in the past one day.

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France moves India to amber list, no quarantine for children

France has now moved India to the amber list of countries. India was earlier classified as red-listed. According to the French government, amber-listed countries are those where there is active circulation of the virus in controlled proportions, without the spread of concerning variants. The VFS centres in Delhi and Mumbai are now operational and will start accepting all visa categories. Travellers who already hold a valid C-type Schengen visa for 3-5 years can travel without restriction as long as they are fully vaccinated with Covishield or any of the EMA-approved vaccines - Pfizer/ Comirnaty, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria/Covishield. For these passengers, the second dose should have been administered seven days before the actual travel. The vaccination schedule is considered complete 28 days after the administration of one dose for the Janssen vaccine. Travellers are required to furnish proof of vaccination status as well as a sworn statement attesting to the absence of Covid-19 infection symptoms and contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case. There is no quarantine for children upon arrival in France. The restrictions applicable for those who are unvaccinated would also apply for those vaccinated with Covaxin and such travellers would still need to furnish compelling reasons for travel to France. Holders of ‘talent passports’ students and researchers fall under the list of compelling reasons allowing them to travel to France. Such travellers would need to furnish a negative PCR test carried out less than 72 hours before departure or a negative antigen test carried out less than 48 hours before departure. They would also need to submit a sworn statement attesting to the absence of Covid-19 infection symptoms and contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case as well as an undertaking to undergo an antigenic test or pathological test, which will be carried out on their arrival in France. Such travellers would also need to sign an undertaking to self-isolate for seven days and an undertaking to undergo a virological screening test (PCR) at the end of the isolation period.

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Indian hotel market looks up in June; Mumbai leads the pack with over 50% occupancy

Indian hotels have shown signs of recovery in the month of June 2021 in all its performance parameters of occupancy, ADR and RevPAR after consecutive months of poor run due to the Covid, reveals HVS Anarock monthly report. Indicating a strong direct correlation between the aviation and the hospitality sector, the recovery in domestic aviation in the month of June had a direct positive impact on the performance of the hotels in the country. While the domestic air traffic increased by around 47 per cent in the month of June after sharp fall in the passenger demand in the months of April and May, due to the Covid-19 second wave, this demand growth had reflected on the hotel occupancies across key cities in the country. Both in terms of Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) performance and Month-on-Month (M-o-M) performance, June 2021 stood out as a better performing month for Indian hotels. As per a monthly performance report by leading hotel consultancy company, HVS Anarock, occupancy in all major cities witnessed a Y-o-Y and M-o-M improvement with visible improvement in leisure travel. Mumbai recorded the highest occupancy among Indian cities, 51 to 53 per cent in the month of June, followed by New Delhi, 39 to 41 per cent. The agency attributes this rise in occupancy riding largely over staycation and weekend business. On the occupancy side, the national average ranged between 30 and 32 per cent, indicating a month-on-month growth of 12 to 14 percentage points. The growth in occupancies also reflected positively on the ADR’s and RevPARs for the month. As per the HVS Anarock report, the ADR for Indian hotels showed an improvement of 14 to 16 per cent (INR 3,600 to INR 3,800) in June, compared to the previous month of May, 2021. In the month of June, the RevPAR of Indian hotels on a pan-India basis, improved 93 to 95 per cent (INR 1,080 to INR 1,250) as against May 2021. On a year on year basis, average daily rates went up by 17-19 per cent while occupancy rates went up by 10-12 per cent in June. Revenue per available room was up by 78-80 per cent year on year in June. With the sector looking up after remaining low for a few months, the hotel stocks also have shown an upward trend last month. Among the hotel stocks, Indian Hotel Company Limited (IHCL) stocks performed well, the report said.

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IRCTC Loyalty Scheme for Tejas Train

The Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has launched a 'Loyalty scheme' for its passengers. The scheme is for passengers travelling from Tejas express. According to IRCTC, Tejas Express Train on Lucknow - Delhi – Lucknow (82501-82502) and Ahmedabad – Mumbai- Ahmedabad (82901-82902) routes, will resume from 7 August. According to the new 'Loyalty scheme', IRCTC SBI Premium Loyalty card user can avail multiple benefits while booking their tickets for Tejas trains. IRCTC Loyalty Scheme Benefits - Welcome benefit of 500 reward points who book one Tejas train booking within 45 days of card issuance - 15 Rewards points on every Rs 100 spent on IRCTC Tejas trains for self-travel - 15 Rewards points on every Rs 100 spent on IRCTC Tejas trains for self-travel Only users who have linked their IRCTC SBI Premium Loyalty card with their user ID’s are eligible for Loyalty scheme benefits. IRCTC SBI Premium Card: Features - 1500 Bonus reward points worth Rs 1500 on payment of Card fee - Flat 10 percent value back as Reward Points for railway spends throughout the year. - 5 percent reward points on Air Tickets and e-catering spends. - 1 percent transaction charge waiver on Rail tickets & 1.8 percent transaction charge waiver on IRCTC Air bookings on website or mobile app - 3 percent value back on Dining, standing instruction on Utility spends & selected travel partners - 1 percent fuel surcharge waiver (maximum up to Rs 250 in one month). - Complimentary Air Accident Cover of Rs 50 lakh - Complimentary Rail Accident Cover of Rs 10 lakh - Complimentary Credit Card Fraud Liability Cover of Rs 01 lakh - 08 Premium IRCTC lounge access at Railway Stations in a year (max 02 per quarter). - Annual fee waiver of Rs 1500 from next year onwards on spends of Rs 2,00,000 or above in the previous year

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Parl Committee Recommends Measures To Boost Tourism, Infrastructure In Aviation Sector

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture submitted a report to the Parliament on Tuesday. The report suggested some important developments to be made in the field of Tourism, Culture, and Aviation. The report was conducted up for better understanding and redevelopment of tourist spots in India. Findings made by the committee on 'tourism' The Committee informed that the Ministry of Tourism has identified 15 themes under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme (SDS) to develop theme-based circuits. As of date, the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 75 projects across 31 States/Union Territories for an amount of Rs.5865 Crore under the SDS of which an amount of Rs.3877 Crore has been released for implementing the projects. The Parliamentary committee found 295 places in India which could be potentially promoted as tourist spots and whose infrastructure could be developed to attract more tourists. Sustainable tourism in the Himalayan region under January 2015 launched SDS was taken up. This scheme is planned for the integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits for the development of tourism infrastructure in the country. The report suggested, "Keeping in view the tourist potential in the area the committee recommends that tourist sites under the Himalayan circuit of Sudesh Darshan scheme should be developed on priority basis with modern infrastructure and other connectivity to boost both domestic and international tourism." Report regarding the aviation sector The committee findings intended that the number of pilots in India was not as per the demand. It stressed the need to develop a pilot training institute at every airport or near the airport to produce more pilots in the country. The committee suggestion read, "Keeping in view the growth in the Indian aviation industry and shortage of pilots faced in India, the committee recommends that the ministry should give serious thought to setting up a new institute for pilot training and to revamp the existing ones by providing modern simulators and also augment the capacity intake of students in the existing institutes. The committee recommends that the ministry issued officials setting up pilot training institute adjusting to the airport, at least in one airport in its state. The ministry should also take necessary steps to ensure that a sufficient number of trainers are made available by offering incentives that would attract them to this field." "The installation of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter for air conditioning was also considered which were to be installed at airports and lounges. The committee chairman said," The plane already has a HEPA filter, but, the airport and its lounges do not. So, the airport should HEPA filter air conditioners at airports to avoid the risk of deadly COVID-19 virus," the report added. Rajya Sabha MP TG Venkatesh emphasized that before presenting the report at the parliament, they discussed the various points with many political leaders. He quoted, "Our committee is like a mini parliament and we have several experts along with political leaders from different parties who have suggested key issues in the report. We have mentioned in the report how to develop infrastructure in the field of tourism and aviation sector and how to generate employment through pilot training institute, MRO for airlines in India. The Committee under the Chairmanship of Venkatesh also suggested regularly monitoring the progress of sites under the PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive) scheme.

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