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New houseboat repair policy by Jammu and Kashmir admin raises hope for tourism

A new policy that permits houseboats in Jammu and Kashmir to undergo renovation has become a ray of hope for the tourism industry in the region. Considering the importance of the houseboats, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha announced a new policy aimed to preserve the houseboats which has given smile on the faces of houseboat owners. The comprehensive policy solves various problems faced by the dwellers living in these houseboats stationed at the famous Dal Lake and Nigeen Lake. It also gives the Tourism Department a shining hope to boost the influx of people from across the world for sightseeing and experiencing rich heritage of Jammu and Kashmir. Also, houseboat owners at Dal Lake are happy with the administration's preservation policy. In recent years, the houseboats were damaged due to floods, fire and other incidents which resulted in reduction of the number of these beautiful boats. Recollecting the time when some tourists visited the lake for getting the experience of living in houseboat, Muhammad Yusuf, a houseboat owner said, "Earlier, when we did not have the permission to repair or paint the boat, the tourist used to complain about the furnishings of the houseboat." However, he hopes that the new policy will benefit their business. Houseboats have served as the star attraction in Jammu and Kashmir over the years. There are several hundreds of colourful houseboats moored on Srinagar's Dal and Nigeen lakes. Divya, a tourist in the valley, sees houseboats as a unique feature that defines the union territory. "It is very important that these houseboats are preserved. They add a charm to Kashmir's tourism when compared to the rest of the states, UTs in India," she said. Tariq Ahmad Patloo, another houseboat owner, described his past struggle to get approval for renovation. "We have been demanding the administration for a one-door policy for the past 20-25 years. From one office to the other, we had to keep seeking permission but were mostly unsuccessful even after trying for six-seven years. This is why we are considering this step taken by the administration as a great initiative," he said. Currently, there are around 928 houseboats in the two lakes in Srinagar, informed Director Tourism Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Itoo. "It is now mandatory for the committees, which is set to look after this initiative, to meet every three months and review the applications for the renovation of the houseboats," said the Director of Tourism.

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World’s most-vaccinated nation Seychelles sees tourism pick-up

Seychelles has seen a pickup in tourism after vaccinating a bigger proportion of its population against the coronavirus than any other nation. The number of visitors to the Indian Ocean island archipelago plummeted 92% to 6,785 in the first quarter as international travel ground to a near-halt. Seychelles has since reopened its borders and several airlines have resumed flights. The country saw a recent surge in Covid-19 infections, although it abated this week. The tourism numbers “are not pre-Covid numbers but it is a significant improvement,” Naadir Hassan, the minister of finance, economic planning and trade, said in an interview on Thursday. While the government banned intermingling of households and sporting events in response to the increased virus caseload, the minister said the economy couldn’t cope with another border closure regardless of whether there was another surge. “When we close down our main sector, that is tourism, is impacted,” Hassan said. “That means we do not have revenues coming in, impacting immediately our exchange rate, and the government will not be able to sustain its economy.” Plummeting tourism revenues have placed the government’s finances under severe strain. That will require it to be more disciplined in its spending and significantly reduce support for Air Seychelles Ltd., the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation and other state entities, according to the minister. The fiscal deficit is projected to fall to 15.3% of gross domestic product this year from 18% in 2020, the budget released in February showed. Seychelles is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund about providing budgetary support. The nation’s debt equates to about 100% of its gross domestic product. It owed 18.1 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) at the end of last year, just over half of it to external creditors. The government plans to reorganize its debt, replacing some domestic loans with more external financing, a move it hopes will bring down its interest bill, Hassan said.

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Covid negative RT-PCR report must for all railway passengers arriving in Maharashtra

Covid negative RT-PCR report is now mandatory for all Indian Railways passengers arriving in the state of Maharashtra. Piyush Goyal chaired Railway Ministry has advised all train passengers to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour while boarding, travelling and de-boarding at the destination. According to the national transporter, any person entering the state of Maharashtra by any mode of transport will have to carry a negative RT-PCR covid test report. The coronavirus RT-PCR test report should have been issued from up to a maximum of 48 hours before the time of the passenger’s entry into Maharashtra, Indian Railways has stated. According to the national transporter, all the restrictions that have been made applicable to persons arriving from the states of Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), as per orders dated 18 April 2021 and 1 May 2021, will now be applicable to anyone arriving from any part of the country to the state. Meanwhile, the Railway Ministry has suspended several passenger special train services. Since last year, several special train services have been plying over the Indian Railways network as all passenger train services were put on halt by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the national transporter, because of the surge in covid cases, some of the special train services were running with low occupancy. Thus, due to low occupancy as well as other operational reasons, Indian Railways has decided to discontinue some of the special train services till further advice.

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Indian Railways extends further trips of various trains on special fares; see list

For the convenience of Indian Railways passengers, the national transporter has decided to extend the further trips of certain train services. According to the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Western Railways’ Mumbai Division, the zonal railway has extended the further trips of seven pairs of special trains at 1.3 rates as fully reserved trains on existing composition, timings, path as well as maintenance schedule. This will help commuters to travel more comfortably and conveniently. Here is the full list of train services, which have been extended by Western Railways on special fares: 1) Train Number 09035 Mumbai Central – Manduadih / Train Number 09036 Manduadih – Dadar Super Fast Special: Train Number 09035 has been extended from Mumbai Central to Manduadih on Friday (one trip on 28 May 2021) and Train Number 09036 has been extended from Manduadih to Dadar on Sunday (one trip on 30 May 2021). 2) Train Number 09117 / 09118 Mumbai Central – Bhagalpur – Mumbai Central Special: Train Number 09117 Ex. Mumbai Central on Friday (one trip on 28 May 2021) and Train Number 09118 Ex. Bhagalpur on Monday (one trip on 31 May 2021) 3) Train Number 09501 / 09502 Okha – Guwahati – Okha Special: Train Number 09501 Ex. Okha on Friday (one trip on 28 May 2021) and Train Number 09502 Ex. Guwahati on Monday (one trip on 31 May 2021) 4) Train Number 09193 / 09194 Mumbai Central – Gorakhpur – Mumbai Central Super Fast Special: Train Number 09193 Ex. Mumbai Central on Monday and Thursday (two trips on 24 and 27 May 2021) and Train Number 09194 Ex. Gorakhpur on Wednesday and Saturday (two trips on 26 and 29 May 2021) 5) Train Number 09133 / 09134 Bandra Terminus – Ghazipur City – Valsad Super Fast Special: Train Number 09133 Ex. Bandra Terminus to Ghazipur City on Wednesday (one trip on 26 May 2021) and Train Number 09134 Ex. Ghazipur City to Valsad on Friday (one trip on 28 May 2021) 6) Train Number 09135 / 09136 Surat – Bhagalpur / Bhagalpur – Ratlam Super Fast Special: Ex. Surat to Bhagalpur on Wednesday (one trip on 26 May 2021) and Ex. Bhagalpur to Ratlam on Thursday (one trip on 27 May 2021) 7) Train Number 09429 / 09430 Ahmedabad – Muzaffarnagar – Ahmedabad Special: Ex. Ahmedabad on Monday (one trip on 24 May 2021) and Ex. Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday (one trip on 25 May 2021)

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Russia trip for Rs 1.29 lakh with 2 Sputnik V jabs, vaccine tourism kicks off

VACCINE TOURISM TAKES INDIANS TO RUSSIA As vaccine drives are on in full swing in the country and many other nations, a new form of tourism has sprung up. Growing demand for overseas vaccine tourism is coming up fast in India, and it seems, currently, Russia is the destination of choice. Yes, you read that right. A Dubai-based travel agency has started offering a 24-day package tour from Delhi to Moscow. Under it, they will take travellers to Russia, offer them two shots of the Sputnik V vaccines, along with the certificates. A 20-day sightseeing package is also included for travellers to spend the interval between the jabs. The package is worth Rs 1.29 lakh and will cover everything, including the cost of getting the vaccines. IndiaToday.in got in touch with the agency, and according to them, people are very interested in getting their hands on the package. They said, “The batch that is supposed to leave for May 29 is fully booked with about 28 passengers. The next batch will leave on June 7 and June 15.” “If you are not vaccinated, we will take you to Russia to get your dose of Sputnik V vaccination. The 24 night and 25 day package includes the two doses of vaccine, Delhi-Moscow-Delhi air tickets, 4 days accommodation in a 3-star hotel in St Petersburg, 20 days accommodation in a 3-star hotel in Moscow, return train ticket for Moscow-St Petersburg-Moscow and 24 breakfast and dinner meals. We will be taking 30 passengers in each slot. Only the visa fee of Rs 10,000 is not included in the package,” the travel agency added. The package will also cover excursions around Moscow and St Petersburg and sightseeing fees in the country. IndiaToday.in got in touch with the Russia visa application centre. A spokesperson said, "Indian citizens can apply for any type of visa at the moment and the visa centre in New Delhi is operational." As for the international flights from India to Russia, according to a Make My Trip spokesperson, "Indian passport holders can travel to Russia right now. There is no restriction as of now." However, given the current pandemic situation, visa rules and flight status are not fixed. It is advisable to check before embarking on any foreign trip at the moment.

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Hotel and restaurant staff to get priority vaccination in Kerala

Hotel and restaurant staff in the 18-45 age group will get priority vaccination in Kerala, announced the state government. The government has notified different priority groups to be considered for priority vaccination based on the suggestions from different departments. The government has included 32 different groups in the new list of frontline workers for priority vaccination. People included in the list can register for free vaccinations on a priority basis. The tourism industry in Kerala has been demanding priority vaccination for the entire workforce to start speedy revival of the tourism sector. Along with hotel and restaurant workers, field and ground staff of the airports, workers in the beverages corporation, home delivery agents, workers in the oxygen plants, employees of the state transport corporation, state electricity board, are included in the list.

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