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Maldives tourism revives over holiday season

Tourism in the Maldives, which reopened its borders in mid-July after a near four-month lockdown, is picking up with a surge in arrivals expected for the festive season. “The year-end arrivals are looking good and some of this credit should go to the Maldivian authorities for aggressive destination marketing,” an industry official said. Beating 22 other countries to bag the highly coveted World’s Leading Destination award at last month’s World Travel Awards – the most prestigious awards in the tourism industry – has also helped to boost the Maldives’ reputation as a tourist destination, said Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) managing director Thoyyib Mohamed. “We have been continuing destination marketing even during the lockdown. Last month, we launched a global media campaign and currently have 47 other marketing activities with B2B and B2C campaigns,” he said, adding that source markets including Russia, Ukraine, the UK, India and the US were doing well. He said the Maldives saw 35,759 arrivals last month and is on track to reaching its target of 100,000 arrivals from mid-July to year-end by December 15. Meanwhile, the total arrivals for the year is expected to be a little over 500,000 arrivals, a steep decline compared to pre-Covid figures but commendable given the restrictions on outbound travel in many source markets. Abdulla Ghiyas, deputy managing director at Inner Maldives Holiday, said many airlines were returning to the Maldives, in part due to the island nation being one of the few Asian countries with borders open to leisure travellers. “We are seeing many expatriates from the Middle East also visiting the Maldives,” he said, adding that based on the upward trajectory, next year’s target has been revised to one million from 600,000. The number of Covid-19 infections detected in the island nation has also reduced since borders were reopened on July 15, and were mostly confined to the capital Male – far away from the remote resorts, added Ghiyas, who is also the former president of Maldives Association for Travel Agents & Tour Operators. Meanwhile, 10 resorts have acquired their own Covid testing machines and are awaiting Health Ministry clearance, a facility until now only offered by Soneva resorts in the Maldives. Another industry official from a DMO, who declined to be named, said the surge in visitor arrivals has surprised many sector players. “(Demand in forward bookings) is really looking good and we expect occupancy of 60-65 per cent during the festive season, as compared to 70-75 per cent in the past few years,” he said, noting however that prices have been marked down by 30-50 per cent to attract visitors. Still, he added: “Even if prices are low, the cash injection with growing arrival numbers is vital to sustain the resorts.”

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Madhya Pradesh: Gwalior, Orchha in UNESCO world heritage cities list

The historical fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh have been included in the list of UNESCOs world heritage cities under its urban landscape city programme, according to the state government. An official of the government’s public relations department on Monday said tourism experts have termed the inclusion as a major achievement for the state. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), an agency of the United Nations, aims at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture. “After getting included in the heritage city list, the face of Gwalior and Orchha will totally change and UNESCO along with the state tourism department will make a master plan for the beautification of the two places, the official said. A UNESCO team will visit the state next year and after having a look at the heritage properties will prepare a master plan for their development and conservation, he said. “ The project will prove to be an example for South Asia. Under the plan UNESCO will suggest best measures and resources for the development of these places under the Historic Urban Landscape recommendations, the official said. Gwalior was established in 9th century and ruled by Gurjar Pratihar Rajvansh, Tomar, Baghel Kachvaho and Scindias. The memorabilia left by them is found in abundance in memorials, forts and palaces in the area. Gwalior is known for its palaces and temples, including the intricately carved Sas Bahu Ka Mandir temple. The Gwalior Fort occupies a sandstone plateau overlooking the city and is accessed via a winding road lined with sacred Jain statues. Within the forts high walls is the 15th-century Gujari Mahal Palace, now an archaeological museum. Orchha is is popular for its temples and palaces and was the capital of the Bundela kingdom in the 16th century. The famous spots in the town are Raj Mahal, Jehangir Mahal, Ramraja Temple, Rai Praveen Mahal, and Laxminarayan Mandir, the official said. After inclusion in the World Heritage City list, chemical treatment of historic spots like Mansingh Palace, Gujri Mahal and Sahastrabahu Temple will be done so that art inscribed on them will become more visible, the official said. Guards will be posted at these places to welcome tourists as per the Indian traditions, he said.

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Flights between Nepal, India to resume from next week under 'air bubble' concept, say officials

Stalled for nearly nine months, flights between Kathmandu and New Delhi are set to resume from next week under the 'air bubble' concept, government officials confirmed. Flight connection between Nepali and Indian capital would resume from next week with the completion of preparations, Buddhi Sagar Lamicchane, the Joint Secretary at Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, confirmed. "We will send a positive response to the 'air bubble' concept that India sent through the diplomatic channel to the ministry regarding the date of operating the flights. After this, the airlines of both countries would be asked to make the necessary preparations to resume the flights. It will take a maximum of 10 days starting Tuesday," Lamicchane said. Accepting the proposal of India for 'air bubble' only two flights would be operated in between the Indian and Nepali capital on the first of the phased planned resumption. "One airline each from Nepal and India will each operate flights between Kathmandu and New Delhi. The two countries can increase the number of flights based as deemed necessary later," Lamicchane added. A meeting of Council of Ministers on November 25 had decided to accept the proposal floated by India. Furthermore, the meeting also decided to grant authority to MoCTCA (Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation) to grant permission for the same based on the need. "The flights would be operated after the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the regulatory body, together with India's aviation agency, prepares the flight standards," Joint Secretary at MoCTCA explained further. Although Nepal decided to resume international flights on September 1, nearly after six months of its discontinuation in wake of Covid-19 pandemic, flights to three destinations in India - New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore - are yet to resume owing to the increasing rate of Covid-19 infection.

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Atal Tunnel: Prior permission essential to cross it at night

Reportedly, only vehicles with prior permission shall be allowed to pass through the famous Atal Tunnel between Kullu and Keylong at night. The decision has been taken by the Lahaul and Spiti district administration for the sake of public safety. According to the latest reports, the call to restrict the movement of vehicles with no prior permission via the Atal Tunnel after sundown has been taken considering the slippery and risky nature of the road. Superintendent of Police Manav Verma told a news daily that the Manali-Keylong road through the Atal Tunnel turns slippery and risky for the passage of vehicles at night. Therefore, it has been decided that all vehicular traffic without the required permission will be barred from movement between Kullu-Manali and Keylong via the tunnel. In addition, residents of the district have been told to cancel avoidable movement on the road to prevent any accident. Reportedly, the movement was stopped in the past for the installation of 33KV power lines under the Atal Tunnel from Manali side towards Lahaul valley. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) permitted vehicular movement once the work was finished. In addition, no traffic would be allowed to pass through the tunnel between 2 PM and 3 PM for the maintenance work. About two weeks ago, the Atal Tunnel, which has now become a tourist hotspot, was closed due to snowfall and also in the wake of rise in COVID cases in the nearby villages.

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Indian Railways passengers can check IRCTC PNR status on WhatsApp. Here is how

To make travel experience favourable for railway passengers, Mumbai-based startup Railofy has come up with an innovative solution. The new feature allows passengers to get real-time PNR status and details of train journey directly on their WhatsApp. This will save the cumbersome and time-consuming process of searching for the PNR status and other train journey details. With the help of this feature, Indian Railways passengers can get live train status, previous railway station, upcoming station and other train journey details besides PNR status. Earlier passenger’s had to dial the railway helpline number 139 for live train status. Here is how one can check PNR status as well as real-time train journey information via WhatsApp: -Update the WhatsApp application on your phone. -Android users can update the app from the Play Store and iPhone users can update it from the App store. -Save Railofy's train enquiry number '+91-9881193322' on your mobile phone. -Go to WhatsApp and click on the new message button to open your contacts list. -Choose the Railofy contact and type in your 10 digit PNR number in the message window. -Now, send the PNR number to Railofy. -You will receive alerts and real-time updates about your train journey and status on WhatsApp.

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Tourist spots in the Nilgiris get ready to reopen after eight months

Tourist spots that are set to reopen on Monday in the Nilgiris are being cleaned and readied for the arrival of visitors. Nilgiris district collector, J. Innocent Divya, announced on Friday that all tourist spots run by the Tourism Department and the Eco-Development Committees (EDCs), managed by the Forest Department and local communities, will begin functioning from Monday following the directions of the State government. While the parks and recreational spaces run by the Horticulture Department, such as the Government Botanical Garden, Sims Park, Rose Garden and Kattery Park, have been opened since last month, other tourist spots, such as the Ooty Lake and Boat House, Pykara Lake, Ninth Mile, Doddabetta Peak and Kodanad View Point have remained closed since March of this year. Northey Kuttan, a member of the indigenous Toda community, and the president of the Pagalkodu Mund EDC which is in-charge of maintaining the Ninth Mile Shooting Spot, said that preparations to safely open the area for the public have been completed. “Based on the instructions of the government, we have provided hand-sanitisers, gloves and masks to all the staff working in the EDC. We will also disinfect the area such as ticket stalls and sitting areas every two hours,” said Mr. Kuttan. Microphone and speaker systems have also been installed to make announcements to tourists to maintain personal distancing at all times and to wear the masks while they are visiting, he added. In the Boat House, boatmen spent the weekend repairing their boats and completed other maintenance works. “The boats have been unused since March, so some of them needed to be repaired,” said one of the boatmen working at the Ooty Boat House. Shopkeepers around the area too said that they would reopen, after many of them remained closed due to the lack of tourists over the last few months.

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