News

Lanka extends free tourist visa to 48 nations until April 30 to revive tourism.

Sri Lanka on Thursday extended the free visa-on-arrival scheme till April 30 for the citizens of 48 countries, including India, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said, as the country tries to revive the tourism sector. In April, Sri Lanka suspended its plans to grant visa-on-arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating bombings that killed 258 people. In July, the island nation added more countries, including India and China after it re-launched the free visa on arrival scheme, which was implemented from August 1. In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, the USD 20 visa fee for South Asian travellers and USD 35 fee applicable to visitors from the rest of the world were waived off. Tourism which contributes five per cent to the island’s GDP was dealt a severe blow after the ISIS linked local extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) carried out suicide bombings which killed over 260 people at three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21. Sri Lanka’s tourism arrivals had received a boost by early 2019 with over 10 per cent increase in arrivals year on year. The Lonely Planet had by then named Sri Lanka as a top tourist destination in the world. The bombings, which targeted three Catholic churches and three posh Colombo hotels, killed over 250 people, including 44 foreigners, and injured over 500, including 37 foreigners. Tourism industry officials said there have been 70 per cent cancellations of prior bookings after the attacks. The US, China, the UK, India and Australia were among the countries which issued travel warnings on Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday blasts.

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West Bengal’s Digha to have seaplane service to promote tourism.

The government of Bengal has forwarded a proposal to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), conveying its wish to begin seaplane operations in Digha. According to reports, Digha has been garnering a lot of tourist attention in Bengal. Also, the state government has already been building up the infrastructure of this beach town. The government is also trying to invest in seaplanes in order to lure more tourists to the state, which will ultimately help in improving the local economy. The Mamata Banerjee government had earlier assured that Digha would be turned into a thriving beach town. Several development works have been undertaken in Digha and other beach destinations of East Midnapore. Reportedly, it is CM Mamata Banerjee who has come up with the idea of introducing seaplanes. News has it that the state government is planning to bring forth water-friendly aircraft that will land on water. The passengers on board can then onboard vessels or boats to come ashore. Reportedly, it is also possible that the flight operations may get started from the Cooch Behar Airport. Located in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, Digha is a coastal resort town known for its untouched and picturesque beaches. There are about three accommodations in Digha, including government-owned properties. Digha has its own railhead but air travellers have to take a flight from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

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IRCTC’s New Year 2020 gift: tour to South India, Goa and Andamans.

South India is believed to be the seat of Indian culture with its ancient temples, heritage handlooms, music and dances as well as food. For those who wish to kickstart their New Year by travelling across a few days down South, here is a chance by IRCTC to do so. Starting from 26 January to 2 February, IRCTC will take passengers on a tour to prominent places across South India. This will be an eight-day-long trip which would include air travel. The tour will start from Lucknow, and all the tourists will be accommodated in a three-star hotel. Tourists will visit places like Tirupati Balaji, Padmavathi Temple, Kalahasti Temple, Ramnath Temple in Rameswaram, Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Padmanabham Temple in Trivandrum and KanyaKumari. The tour price for one person will be INR 51300 and INR 39700 per passenger for two people staying together. Goa calling in January IRCTC has another tour coming up for Goa featuring a three-night air tour from January 25 to 28. Flights will start from Lucknow and land at Goa. Local travel will be by AC buses and tourists will be accommodated in three star hotels. The tour price is INR 26100 per person for double occupancy and INR 24900 per person for triple occupancy. A trip to Andaman and Kolkata in March Another promising trip that IRCTC has prepared is a six-night and five-night air travel package valid from March 1 to 6. It offers a tour to Kali Mandir in Andaman and Kolkata in March. Flight will start from Lucknow and land at Kolkata, and then depart from Kolkata for Port Blair. The tour cost is INR 50200 per person in case of double occupancy and INR 48700 per person for triple occupancy.

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Railway launches single helpline number:139, for any inquiry, grievance.

Indian Railways have launched a major initiative aimed at passenger convenience in the New Year by introducing a single three-digit helpline number for making all inquiries and lodging grievances during travel. The new helpline number 139 will take over all the existing helpline numbers (except 182), making it easy for the passengers to remember this number and connect with the Railways. Introduction of 139 to provide integrated services to consumers of Indian railways has led to discontinuation of following helpline numbers that were dedicated to specific needs. 138- General complaints 1072 – Accidents and safety 9717630982 – For SMS complaints 58888 / 138 – Clean my coach 152210 – Vigilance 1800111321 – Catering services The Press Information Bureau release says the integrated helpline number 139 will be available in 12 languages and based on IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System). There is no need for a smartphone to call on 139, thus, providing easy access to all mobile users. Anybody dialing 139 will be presented with a menu of options to choose from by the IVRS governing the helpline. For security & medical assistance, passengers will be requested to press 1, which will connect them immediately to a call center executive. For enquiry, passengers have to press 2 and in the sub-menu which will take them to the sub-menu where they can choose if their query is related to PNR status, arrival/departure of the train, accommodation, fares, ticket booking, system ticket cancellation, wake up alarm facility/destination alert, wheelchair booking, meal booking, etc. For catering complaints, passengers have to press 3 and press 4 for general complaints. By pressing 5 passengers will be able to lodge a vigilance related complaint. Number 6 of the IVR menu is meant for inquiries during an accident. Status of all Railways consumer complaints can be obtained by pressing 9 and for directly speaking to call centre executive, passengers need to press *.

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Tourist spots in Kerala to become differently-abled friendly by 2021.

Tourist hotspots in Kerala are all set to become differently-abled friendly by 2021. This was recently announced by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, while replying to a question in the Assembly. Further elaborating on this matter, the minister stated that the government has spotted around 120 tourist destinations across the state during the first phase. Work on 98 spots have already been completed to make them differently-abled friendly, whereas work on other destinations are in progress. Kadakampally Surendran also added that those destinations will have special toilet and parking facilities. And apart from this, under the Responsible Tourism initiative, special tour packages will also be launched for the differently-abled. Latest reports suggest that the state tourism department stated that among other facilities that will be available in these spots, will be accessible ramps, wheelchairs, folding walkers, walking sticks, crutches, tactile walkways, special signages, touchscreen kiosks, audio guides, and Braille brochures. Kerala Tourism is also targeting a healthy growth of 10 to 12 per cent in both arrivals as well as in earnings. The tourism department is now taking all the necessary steps to further boost tourism in this region.

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Indian passport holders, now travel to Malaysia visa-free for 15 days.

With Sri Lanka extending its free visa-on-arrival policy for India, Malaysia too is opening its doors for Indian tourists. For the entire 2020, Malaysia is going to open 15-day visa-free travel for people from India and China. According to the new order, a tourist, who is a citizen of India and China, is exempted from the requirement of visa. Indian travellers only need to register themselves on the electronic travel registration and information (eNTRI) system. The ministry said entry without a visa via eNTRI is an improvement over Visa on Arrival. The registration can be done by the traveler themselves or by a travel agency, registered with the Malaysian Mission Office in India. The order will stay in effect from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Once registered, tourists can travel to Malaysia within three months. After which the visa will be limited to only 15 days and will not be extended. The order also said that tourists can re-enter Malaysia after 45 days from the date of leaving the country. Also, tourists entering the country must have a direct travel air ticket back to India or to any other country. Malaysia has seen increased arrivals of Chinese and Indian tourists in the past few months and this step is to boost the tourism of the country.

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