News

South Korea woos tourists from Chennai

In a bid to woo more tourists from Chennai, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is hosting a meeting with top travel agencies in the city on Wednesday. Hong-yup Lee, the Deputy Consul General of Republic of Korea in Chennai, will be leading the talks for registering the issues faced by travel companies in arranging tours to the country. It is learnt that the diplomat would explain to representatives of travel companies about the tourist attractions in South Korea. A consulate spokesperson said that representatives from FCM, Thomas Cook, Peekay Travel, Udaan Travel, Travigo Travel and Yatra will be taking part in the meeting. The deputy consul general said, “Many Indians prefer travelling to Europe. But we believe that a visit to South Korea will change their minds. Now is the time for both the consulate and travel agencies to start a campaign to explore tourism relations between South Korea and South India.”

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Travel agents receive enquiries from Indians keen on going to UK to get COVID-19 vaccine

Travel agents have started receiving enquiries from Indians who want to travel to the UK as soon as possible to get the COVID-19 vaccine that was approved on Wednesday by the British government. One travel agent is planning to launch a three-night package for the Indians who want to get the benefit of the mass vaccination drive in the UK that is likely to begin as early as next week. The UK on Wednesday became the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 after “rigorous” analysis by its independent regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). A Mumbai-based travel agent told the PTI that some people on Wednesday raised queries on “how and when and if” they can travel to the UK to get the COVID-19 vaccine. “I have told them it is too early to say (whether Indians can get vaccine in UK). Anyway, the first in line to the get the vaccine would be the elderly and health workers in the UK who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus,” the agent added. Nishant Pitti, Co-founder and CEO, EaseMyTrip.com said while this is an offbeat season for travel to London, after Wednesday’s announcement about the Pfizer vaccine he has already received queries from some Indians who have got UK visas and can afford to go to London. He said his company was waiting for clarity from the UK government on whether there would be compulsory quarantine requirements for travellers who want to get vaccinated and whether Indian passport holders are eligible for vaccination there or not. Pitti said his company is planning to launch a three-night package for those interested in travelling to the UK for the purpose of vaccination only. “We are dealing with an airline to offer fixed price seats. We already have deals with London hotels. And we are planning to do some deal with a hospital over there so that we can generate a package for that,” he explained. The recent UK government rules state that from December 15, every international arrival in the UK would have to remain in self isolation for five days and then get the RT-PCR test done on the sixth day. The passenger can leave isolation on the sixth day if found COVID-negative in the test. On Wednesday, a Bengaluru-based travel company said Indians are asking if a short trip, without quarantine, to the UK to get the Pfizer vaccine was possible. However, Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) told PTI that people are right now “waiting and watching” as they want to know what the vaccine is going to be like. “Though the government has said there would be no side effects of the vaccine, people want to watch all this before getting the shot,” Mayal noted.

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India allows airlines to operate 80% of pre-Covid capacity

The Indian government on Thursday announced that domestic airlines can now operate from at 80% of their pre-Covid approved capacity with immediate effect. The operations were last capped at 70% of the levels. "Domestic operations recommenced with 30,000 passengers on 25 May & have now touched a high of 2.52 lakhs on 30 Nov 2020," said Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Moreover, on 1 December the number of daily domestic passengers on flights has touched 252,374, which is a new high since operations resumed on May 25 this year. Indian airlines resumed domestic operations on 25 May, after being grounded for two months during a government-backed lockdown to contain the covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the air passenger traffic has gradually picked up over the months, after the collapse of business and leisure travel due to the pandemic.

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MP gets set to welcome film shoots

The Madhya Pradesh government has released a set of Standard Operating Guiding Principles to restart shooting of films in the state. The state with its predominantly Hindi-speaking population and the ready availability of production facilities, line producers, artists and local crew, make it ideal for the shooting of films. Till now more than 200 projects including feature films, TV serial/series, TVCs and reality shows have been shot in the state. Actor Anupam Kher had also tweeted, thanking the state government for their co-operation during the shooting of his film - The Last Show. In his tweet, he also mentioned a special thank you to the MP tourism department for helping them complete the shooting. To further simplify the shoot permission and to help make Madhya Pradesh a shooting-friendly state, a Film Tourism Policy is also being developed. The policy aims to make Madhya Pradesh a major hub for film shooting while generating employment opportunities for the locals. The state tourism boards lists out the facilities that they would be providing to ease the shooting of films, including: - Authentic shooting locations - Film friendly authorities and strong govt. support - Easy permissions - Modern infrastructure and hotels - Favorable law and order condition - Cost effective infrastructure, crew, local talent and other skillful workforce - Hindi speaking people, food/cuisine flexibility and ideal climate To facilitate the shooting of films, TV serials and web series, the Madhya Pradesh tourism board has also set up a dedicated Film Facilitation Cell that shall work as a nodal agency to ease out the shooting permissions through single window clearance system. A dedicated online portal shall also be created to provide a single -point interface and time bound clearance mechanism for filmmakers intending to shoot in Madhya Pradesh. All the applications shall be received through online mode by the Film Facilitation Cell and action shall be taken in coordination with the concerned department for permission. The portal shall also act as a platform for information dissemination related to film tourism policy and as a forum for the dissemination of rules, regulations, while also providing information on grants and other utility services.

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Shipping Ministry to start luxury ‘Ramayan Cruise Service’ on Saryu River in Uttar Pradesh

‘Ramayan Cruise Tour’ on the Saryu River in Ayodhya will be launched soon. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways today chaired a review meeting for the implementation of cruise service. It will be the first-ever luxury cruise service on the Saryu River (Ghagra/National Waterways-40) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. It aims to give mesmerising experience to devotees with one-of-its-kind spiritual journeys while cruising through the famous ghats of the holy river Saryu. The cruise will be equipped with all luxury comfort and facilities along with all essential safety and security features at par with the global standard. The interiors of the cruise and the boarding point will be based on the theme of Ramcharitmanas. The fully air-conditioned 80-seater cruise will have large glass windows for experiencing the scenic beauty of Ghats. The cruise will be equipped with kitchen and pantry facilities for the comfort of the tourists. The cruise contains bio toilets and hybrid engines system for the ‘zero effect’ on environment. Tourists will be taken on the ‘Ramcharitmanas Tour’, of 1-1.5 hour duration, featuring an exclusively made video film of 45-60 minutes duration, based on Ramcharitmanas by Goswami Tulsidas, covering the period from the birth of Lord Ram to his Rajyabhishek. The entire tour will cover the approximately 15-16 Km distance.There will be several activities and selfie points inspired by different episodes of Ramayan. The tour will be followed by Saryu Aarti, in which every member will be able to actively participate. The ‘Ramayan Cruise Tour’ will not only attract a large number of tourists but it will also generate direct and indirect employment opportunities in the region. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways will provide all necessary infrastructural support for the smooth operation of the cruise service.

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Maldives permits 84% of resorts to reopen

MALE, Dec. 2 -- Some 84 percent of resorts in the Maldives have been granted permission to reopen by the Ministry of Tourism since July, local media reported here Wednesday. Tourism Ministry statistics showed that 133 out of 159 resorts have been permitted to reopen since the country resumed tourist arrivals on July 15. Accordingly, Maldives now has a bed capacity of 30,878. Over 70,000 tourists arrivals have been recorded since July 15. Maldives closed its borders to tourists in March amid a COVID-19 outbreak.

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