News

Italy opens up for international travellers; on its way to revive tourism

Italy is slowly on its way to recovery after COVID-19 wreaked havoc in the nation last year. Its tourism industry is also opening up to travellers from some select countries for now, and there is hope that one of the world's most loved country for travellers might soon see a revival. Tourism is one of the main revenue sectors for Italy; pre-COVID, tourism brought in 13 per cent of Italy's GDP. The nation has formally reopened its borders to international travellers and has allowed restriction-free travel for visitors from some countries. Earlier this week, Italy opened up for travellers from EU member states, Israel as well as the UK. Travellers from these countries will need to provide COVID-19 negative certificates, vaccination certificate or proof of their recovery from COVID-19 in the past six months. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, in a meeting earlier this month, announced that Italy would be welcoming tourists from around mid-May. Reportedly, COVID-19 related parameters, such as infection rate, hospitalisation and death rates has improved in the country over the past month and is one of the reasons why Italy is opening up. Reportedly, apart from the countries that are allowed restriction-free travel to Italy, visitors from other nations need to follow quarantine rules and abide by the other related conditions as well.

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Abu Dhabi to end quarantine for all international visitors starting from July 1

Abu Dhabi will end quarantine for all international arrivals starting from July 1, reports John Benny for Gulf News. "It will be similar to the Dubai system - the PCR protocol will be different from high-risk to low- risk destinations, " said Ali Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing, DCT Abu Dhabi. "Quarantine will not be an option," said Al Shaiba. Abu Dhabi currently requires travellers to quarantine for 10 days unless they are from a 'green-list' country. "We are announcing an extended green list - this green list will cover a majority of the markets that we are tapping into," said Al Shaiba "Hopefully, by the first of July, everybody will be allowed to travel to Abu Dhabi." The tourism executive said Abu Dhabi was monitoring new markets to make up for the loss incurred from large markets such as India, UK and Germany being shut down. "We're monitoring and analyzing these markets on a weekly basis, to find out where are the opportunities (and) which markets we can tap into.. to cover the loss that we might have in other markets," said Al Shaiba. Abu Dhabi will "enhance" its border with Dubai to make travel easier, said Al Shaiba. "We're working with the government on a plan for that border to make it more tourist-friendly." "We can have specific procedures for tourists, so their pass through the border will be much easier, more convenient and seamless as well."

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Hong Kong Tourism to launch promotional campaigns for domestic and international markets

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) will be launching separate campaigns for domestic and international markets as the city starts showing signs of covid19 pandemic recovery. As preparing the ground and setting the tone for tourism revival, HKTB held its annual Tourism Update event online discussing tourism trends and sharing details of the HKTB’s latest strategic plans with around 2,700 trade representatives from Hong Kong, mainland and overseas travel agencies, attractions, hotels, airlines, retailers, restaurants, meeting and exhibition operators, cruise lines, and other travel sectors. Addressing the stakeholders, HKTB Executive Director Dane Cheng said that the Board was preparing to step up promotions and would launch a new round of the Hong Kong Neighbourhoods campaign for the domestic market. In addition, the HKTB also hopes to relaunch mega events in physical formats to prepare for tourism recovery. “The global economy has started to rebound with Asia predicted to recover sooner and the Mainland expected to outperform other markets in economic growth. Combined with the gradual easing of the pandemic situation in Hong Kong, this makes it a good time for Hong Kong to further raise its profile. As cross-border travel gradually resumes, the HKTB will launch the Open House Hong Kong platform to conduct large-scale promotions in our source markets,” Cheng said. The HKTB has in recent years launched two promotions, Old Town Central and Sham Shui Po, under its Hong Kong Neighbourhoods campaign. Both were warmly welcomed by visitors who appreciated the in-depth experience they offered. To tie in with the opening of M+ visual culture venue in late 2021, the HKTB will focus its next promotion on the West Kowloon Cultural District and its surrounding area in the next quarter by revamping the promotions on the authentic local cultural aspects of the neighbourhood to help boost interest from visitors as travel resumption draws closer. If the pandemic situation in the city remains under control, the HKTB also hopes to relaunch mega events that Hong Kong people can initially take part in. The first event to return in a physical format will be the Hong Kong Cyclothon, and the HKTB is studying the feasibility of extending its route to the Hong Kong Section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to add to the event’s appeal. However, the pace of global tourism recovery will be determined by the situation surrounding the pandemic and the vaccination rate worldwide. The HKTB therefore appeals to everyone in tourism-related industries to take part in the vaccination programme and help Hong Kong achieve herd immunity as soon as possible.

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E-registration mandatory for travelling within Chennai

In a bid to intensify lockdown measures, the Greater Chennai Police has made e-pass mandatory for movement between police station limits during the 6 am to 10 am window, when restrictions are eased for the public to buy essentials. Based on the orders of the new City Commissioner Shankar Jiwal, the police have divided the city into 12 districts and 348 sectors. There will be 13 vehicle checkpoints at the district border area and an additional 153 checkpoints will cover all important junctions and police limits. Those residing in the 181 containment zones in the city, however, will not be allowed to step out under any circumstances. As many as 309 four-wheelers, 205 two-wheelers will be deployed to monitor the new restrictions. Elaborate arrangements have been made for the public to buy necessary groceries, vegetables, and other essential items within their sector. Besides medical and other emergencies, people are not allowed to travel from one neighbourhood to another without e-registration beyond 10 am.

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Disneyland Paris to reopen on June 17 as France eases Covid rules

Disneyland Paris, Europe's biggest tourist attraction, said on Monday it would reopen on June 17 as France eases Covid-19 restrictions. The theme park, which employs 17,000 people, closed between March 13 and July 15 last year and has been shut again since October 30. It has had to cancel its reopening plans twice because of the ongoing pandemic. "We are pleased to announce that Disneyland Paris will reopen on June 17," the park said in a statement, adding that it will follow "enhanced health and safety measures". Initially, Disneyland Paris had hoped to re-admit visitors in February, before setting April 2 as its new target date, which it then also cancelled. Last month, the site began hosting mass Covid vaccinations as France accelerated its inoculation drive. On Monday, the theme park said it would require guests over six years old to wear face masks. Attendance would be limited, and advanced ticketing and reservations were required. Depending on Covid guidance from the authorities, some attractions could be shut or modified, it said. A union source at Disneyland said earlier this year that management expects a return to pre-pandemic levels of activity only in 2022. The Disney group has announced 32,000 job cuts at its theme park activities worldwide, mostly in the United States, because of the impact of the coronavirus.

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Uttarakhand govt extends COVID curfew by another week

The Uttarakhand government on Monday extended the coronavirus curfew in the state by another week, making it mandatory for people attending marriage functions to bring their negative COVID report to the programme. The Covid curfew which was to come to an end at 6 am on May 18 has been extended up to 6 am on May 25, Cabinet Minister and the state government's official spokesman Subodh Uniyal told reporters. People attending a marriage ceremony will have to bring with them their negative RT-PCR test report, not older than 72 hours. The number of guests at a marriage ceremony will be limited to 20, he said. The decision to extend the curfew has been taken to break the transmission chain of the infection, Uniyal said. The number of people attending funerals has also been limited to 20. They will need a curfew pass issued by the administration to go to a cremation or burial ground. PDS outlets, grocery and bakery shops will remain open from 7 am to 10 am during the period. Banks will open from 10 am to 2 pm.

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