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Portals of Badrinath temple open after winter closure

The famous temple of Badrinath in the upper Himalayan region of Uttarakhand opened after the winter break early on Tuesday amid traditional rituals. The chief priest of the temple, Ishwar Prasad Namboodiri, opened the portals of the temple at 4.15 am chanting Vedic hymns and praying for the well-being of all. However, the opening ceremony was a subdued affair with only a limited number of people, including the priests, the Dharmadhikari and administrative officials, attending it in compliance with the COVID-19 standard operating procedure (SOP). In normal circumstances, thousands of people turn up at the high-altitude temple dedicated to Vishnu to witness its opening ceremony. For the second consecutive year, the temple witnessed a simple, thinly-attended opening ceremony. The temple was decorated with around eight quintals of marigolds on the occasion. With the opening of Badrinath, all the four Himalayan temples known as char dham are now open in Uttarakhand. Kedarnath opened on Monday while Yamunotri and Gangotri opened on May 14 and 15 respectively. However, they have been kept out of bounds for pilgrims for the time being due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is being hoped that the pilgrims will be allowed to visit the temples after the pandemic subsides.

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Saudi Arabia to reopen to foreign tourists soon, says official

Saudi Arabia plans to soon reopen to foreign tourists, a senior tourism official said on Monday after the kingdom announced the lifting of quarantine restrictions for certain foreign arrivals. The kingdom announced late on Sunday that non-citizens arriving from certain countries and who were fully vaccinated against or recently recovered from Covid-19 would no longer be required to quarantine in designated government hotels. Those new measures, however, only apply to residents, government and business travellers or those visiting friends and family but not foreign tourists, according to the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA). STA Chief Executive Fahd Hamidaddin told Reuters the kingdom would reopen to foreign tourists this year with an announcement expected to be made "very soon." Hamidaddin declined to say exactly when. Saudi Arabia liberalised its tourism industry in 2019, making it easier for foreigners to apply for tourist visas to the kingdom that had been relatively closed off for decades. Hamidaddin said the kingdom was still targeting 100 million annual visits by 2030, up from about 40 million a year before the pandemic. It was also still targeting for tourism to account for 10% of GDP, up from 3%, by 2030, he said.

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Dubai eases COVID-19 restrictions, allows full hotel capacity

Dubai on Monday eased COVID-19 restrictions, allowing hotels in the regional tourism hub to operate at full capacity and permitting concerts and sports events where all attendees and participants have been vaccinated. The United Arab Emirates ranks highly globally for COVID-19 testing and vaccination rates. Social distancing and compulsory face masks will continue, Dubai's Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said. Capacities for restaurants and entertainment venues also increased. Dubai has pushed to keep its economy, which relies on international trade and business, open through the pandemic after an initial lockdown. The emirate is due to host the Expo 2020 world fair from October, hoping to attract millions of overseas visitors. The UAE has in recent weeks banned entry from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka to guard against the spread of the highly contagious Indian variant.

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Amid COVID-19 lockdown, Indian Railways announces more train cancellations; see list here

More special trains cancelled! On Monday, Indian Railways’ North Western railway zone suspended 10 more trains due to the lockdown triggered by the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. A North Western Railway spokesperson was quoted in a PTI report saying that due to low passenger load, 10 special train services were cancelled. These cancelled train services include the Jodhpur – Indore special train, the Jodhpur – Delhi Sarai Rohilla special train, the Jodhpur – Bilada special train, the Jodhpur – Barmer special train as well as the Sriganga nagar – Ambala special train. These train services will remain cancelled from 19 May 2021 until further orders. Apart from these special train services, the number of trips of four trains has been reduced as well. From May 19, the special train running between Ajmer and Amritsar will now only operate on Wednesday, instead of two days a week, till further orders. Meanwhile, several train services have also been cancelled due to the cyclonic storm ‘Tauktae’. Following are the train services, cancelled by Western Railways in view of the cyclonic storm: Trains cancelled for 17 May 2021 Train Number 09115 Dadar – Bhuj Train Number 09455 Bandra Terminus – Bhuj Train Number 02971 Bandra Terminus – Bhavnagar Terminus Train Number 02972 Bhavnagar – Bandra Terminus Train Number 02945 Mumbai Central – Okha Train Number 01465 Somnath – Jabalpur Train Number 04322 Bhuj – Bareily Train Number 02755 Rajkot – Secunderbad Train Number 02756 Secunderbad – Rajkot Train Number 09456 Bhuj – Bandra Terminus Train Number 09004 Bhuj – Bandra Terminus Train Number 09116 Bhuj – Dadar Train Number 04321 Bareily – Bhuj Train Number 01466 Jabalpur – Somnath Train Number 04678 Mata Vaishno Devi – Hapa Train Number 01192 Pune – Bhuj Train Number 09238 Rewa – Rajkot Train Number 09240 Bilaspur – Hapa Train Number 09572 Bhavnagar – Surendra nagar Train Number 09513 Rajkot – Veraval Train Number 09503 Surendra nagar – Bhavnagar Train Number 09514 Veraval – Rajkot Trains cancelled for 18 May 2021 Train Number 09116 Bhuj – Dadar Train Number 09456 Bhuj – Bandra Terminus Train Number 02946 Okha – Mumbai Central Train Number 01463 Somnath – Jabalpur Train Number 04312 Bhuj – Bareily Train Number 09204 Porbandar – Secunderabad Train Number 02941 Bhavnagar – Asansol Train Number 06505 Gandhidham – Ksr Bengaluru Train Number 04677 Hapa – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Train Number 09572 Bhavnagar – Surendranagar Train Number 09513 Rajkot – Veraval Train Number 09503 Surendranagar – Bhavnagar Train Number 09514 Veraval – Rajkot Trains cancelled for 19 May 2021 Train Number 08402 Okha – Puri Train Number 01191 Bhuj – Pune Train Number 09203 Secunderabad – Porbandar Train Number 04679 Jamnagar – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Train Number 02946 Okha – Mumbai Central Trains cancelled for 20 May 2021 Train Number 02942 Asansol – Bhavnagar Trains cancelled for 21 May 2021 Train Number 09565 Okha – Dehradun

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‘I’m finally here’: Greece formally opens to tourists

Greece formally opened to visitors on Saturday, kicking off a summer season it hopes will resurrect its vital tourism industry battered by the coronavirus pandemic. After months of lockdown restrictions, Greece also opened its museums and famed archaeological sites, including the ancient Acropolis, this week. “I feel really alive and good because it has been such a hard and long year because of COVID,” said Victoria Sanchez, a 22-year-old student on holiday from the Czech Republic. “I feel again alive,” she said, as she strolled near the Roman Agora in downtown Athens. As of Saturday, foreign tourists will be allowed in Greece if they have been vaccinated or can show negative COVID-19 test results. Travel between regions, including to the islands, will also be allowed for those with negative tests or vaccinations. “I’m finally here,” said Rebecca, a tourist in Athens from Florida, who declined to give her last name. “I’ve been waiting two years – two years with the COVID.” Greece has been rolling out vaccines to its islands and hopes to vaccinate most of them by the end of June. The government says vaccines and rapid testing, as well as warmer weather allowing outdoor activities mean visitors can travel safely. As the pandemic brought international travel to a halt in 2020, Greece suffered its worst year for tourism on record, with 7 million visitors compared with a record 33 million in 2019. Tourist revenues tumbled to 4 billion euros ($4.9 billion) from 18 billion euros. This year, it is aiming for 40% of 2019 levels. On the Aegean island of Mykonos, one flight was given a water salute upon landing.Corfu, in the Ionian sea, welcomed visitors from Germany and France. “We are so happy. I’m happy to be here,” said Pierre-Olivier Garcia, soon after arriving on the island. Greeks also welcomed the lifting of lockdown measures, with scores of people leaving for the islands or holiday homes on the mainland on Saturday. “The first weekend of freedom,” Alpha TV proclaimed during a broadcast from the busy port of Piraeus. Greece fared better than much of Europe during the first wave of the pandemic, but rising infections later in 2020 forced it to impose several lockdowns to protect its struggling health system. A country of 11 million, it has recorded 373,881 infections and 11,322 deaths.

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Jammu and Kashmir govt announces ₹3 crore relief package for tourism sector

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday announced a ₹3 crore relief package for people associated with the tourism sector that has taken a severe hit due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Under this package, ₹2,000 financial assistance will be provided to 4,444 registered Shikara owners, 1,370 tourist guides, 6,663 ponywalas and 2,150 others including those who rent palanquins for yatris. The money will be paid for two months. “The relief will be transferred to only those who are registered with the tourism department,” said an official. Those in the tourism sector say this was a very limited package. The package does not have anything for travel agents, owners of Kashmir’s famed houseboats, hotels and transport operators. This package should at least extend amnesty for power and water bills for the tourism infrastructure, said Dr Umar Nazir Tibet Baqal, member of the TAAK Travel agents’ association of Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism sector has been in a bad shape for most of the last two years, beginning with the August decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and with the government asking tourists to leave the region. Tour operators had hoped that the tourist inflow would improve last year but the Covid pandemic kept most people away.

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