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India - Bangladesh flights to resume from Oct 28

Air communication between Bangladesh and India was suspended for the past seven months. However, at an inter-ministerial meeting at the Bangladesh civil aviation and tourism ministry, a decision has been made to resume flight services from October 28 between the two countries. Under the air bubble agreement between India and Bangladesh, three Bangladeshi airlines —Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US Bangla Airlines and Novoair and five Indian carriers — Air India, Indigo, Fly Spicejet, Vistara, and Go Air — would operate 28 flights every week between the two countries from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. Passengers from both countries will have to undergo Covid-19 tests before flying, and the flight arrangement is exclusively between the two nations, so passengers can't travel to a third country from India or Bangladesh. India has stopped entry for all foreigners by halting visa approvals since march 12. Visas will be issued within 7 days, under 9 categories. These include medical, business, employment, journalist, diplomatic, official, UN official and UN diplomatic. Anil Punjabi, TAFI chairman for the Eastern Chapter has welcomed this move saying, "This is great news. This will increase inbound tourists in India, especially in Kolkata, where many travellers come from Bangladesh for their medical needs. Businesses, which include hotels and restaurants of the city, will get some fuel, too. Also, there will be foreign money exchanges, helping to revive the economy. A large number of shopkeepers in the Esplanade area employ Bangladeshis, who will now be able to return to work." A US Bangla Airlines spokesperson from Kolkata also believed that this will help revive tourism between the two countries. "While we haven't received any official communication about the schedules of the flights yet, restarting flight services between the two nations will definitely be of great help for us," he said.

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Sabarimala temple to be opened for devotees during during the Malayalam month of Thulam

The Sabarimala temple will be opened for devotees for five days starting from Friday during the Malayalam month of Thulam amid the COVID-19 outbreak. As per the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), only 250 people will be allowed to visit on a single day and booking will be done on a first come first serve basis. A virtual queue portal for the booking of darshans at the temple has been opened for the public. A COVID-19-negative certificate will be mandatory and pilgrims will be required to take the test 48 hours before reaching Pamba. Those arriving without the certificate will have to undergo a COVID-19 test at the base camp at Nilackal. Special showers are arranged for bathing and devotees will not be allowed to bathe in the Pampa river. The TBD also informed that toilet and bathroom facilities have been set up at Pampa, Nilakkal and Sannidhanam, and sanitisers, soap and water have been arranged at various points. Devotees will ascend and descend through the Swami Ayyappan Road and special marks have been put in place for devotees to perform darshan at Sannidhanam in accordance with the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. There will be no accommodation for devotees at Sabarimala. In addition to the regular poojas, Udayasthamana poojas and Padi poojas will also be held, the TDB said.

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Arunachal Pradesh re-opens for tourists: Here are the SOPs to be followed

As Arunachal Pradesh reopened on Thursday for tourists, chief minister Pema Khandu has requested to follow the ‘new normal’ Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs). “Arunachal Pradesh opens today to welcome tourists. Get mesmerised by its beauty and rejuvenated by the purity of its nature. Those who dreamt- its time to explore...! Tourists visiting Arunachal Pradesh are requested to follow the new normal SOP,” Khandu tweeted. Here are the SOPs to be followed: 1. Only pre-booked package tours, exclusively through local tours operators of the state will be allowed to operate. All tourist transport and ground handling services, including pick up/drop, will be through authorised local travel agents/tour operators 2. Protocol for local tour operator: All tourists should possess a valid Covid-19 negative certificate (RTPCRor True NAT test) from ICMR designated laboratory/facility, not more than 72 hours prior to the date of arrival, a government notification read. 3. All tourists and accompanying drivers and guides of the tour from outside the state should adhere to Covid-19 inter-state traveller testing protocol issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Arunachal Pradesh. 4. Tourists should strictly observe social distancing norms with a physical distance of two meters per person. Family groups can stay together if they ensure that they are at least two meters away from other individuals or family groups. 5. Tourists should wear a protective face mask while within the premises of any tourists destination. All payments should be done through digital modes, wherever possible. Use of the Aarogya Setu app is mandatory for tourists, tour guides and drivers.

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District administration reopens tourism spots in Lonavla to public

Pune: The Pune district administration in a fresh order released on October 14 has reopened Bhushi dam and other tourist spots for tourism. District collector Rajesh Deshmukh issued the order stating that the tourist spots near dams and other places in the hill town will be open to the public. Many of the 60,000 residents of Lonavla who are dependent on tourism for livelihood have claimed to have suffered huge losses and penury during the last six months of coronavirus lockdown. “We were seeing overcrowding of the main market area of Lonavla and decided to open Bhushi dam and other places to tourists. However, the Covid-19 restrictions of social distancing and other safeguards will remain in place,” Deshmukh said. The tourist places of Lonavla were completely shut since the announcement of lockdown and vehicles entering the tourist town were checked. On August 5, following unlockdown guidelines and government permissions, many hotels in the hill town reopened. The tourist spots in the area remained shut and hotels have not been seeing many occupants. The tourist belt of Lonavla stretches from Lonavla city, Lonavla rural, Kamshet and Vadgaon Maval police stations areas wherein multiple tourists spots in and around the Lonavla hill station are located. The picnic spots are accessible and frequented by people from Mumbai as well as Pune especially during monsoon season. The district collector had earlier ordered that the shops in Lonavla will remain open from 9 am to 9 pm from Monday. During the past week, a number of tourists had made a beeline to Bhushi dam and Lion’s point at the weekend which sent the police and administrative machinery into a tizzy. The overcrowding took place despite a tourist ban in the area. Crowds had surged following the rollback of e-passes of inter-district travel by the state government. Sanjay Gawli, a hotel owner from Lonavla said, “Residents and tourists are not following the virus guidelines leading to overcrowding. The administration cannot do much and thought it prudent to open areas. The lifting of ban will boost tourist economy.”

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Goa govt approves new tourism policy

The Goa government on Wednesday approved the long-awaited Goa Tourism Policy 2020, with a vision to make the state the “most preferred destination around the year for high-spending tourists” in 2024. The document envisages 25 years of tourism, with a new Tourism Board to be the backbone for all decisions towards planning, development and marketing of Goa tourism; with a broad purpose to strengthen tourism assets, expand employment opportunities and tourism infrastructure from the footfall heavy beach belts to eco-tourism initiatives in the hinterland. According to the plan, 89% of total tourist arrivals — bulk of whom are domestic tourists — are spread between October and December, “putting immense stress on Goa’s ecology, infrastructure and tourism assets”. The policy comes at a time when there is uncertainty over the mining industry seeing long-term revival. The larger plan is to ensure a single autonomous body with participation from industry stakeholders, unlike earlier models where several government bodies took independent decisions “without any holistic, long term vision”. Industry stakeholders say this will mean that “several misuse of tourism budgets towards beautifying constituencies will see allocation in a planned manner with tourism revenue benefits”. With the cabinet’s approval, the next step is to have a legislation which will see the board headed by the tourism minister taking over. This means that several tourism committees will be dissolved. “Now we can say we have a vision for tourism. Short term and medium targets have been defined, which allows for the creation of infrastructure within proper timelines. Tourism contribution to GDP is 40 per cent and we want to ensure the employment opportunities are not limited to coastal belts,” said Menino D’Souza, Tourism Director. “The other important aspect is allowing private participation as a model. We have used success models from other states and also global cities.” “We are happy it’s been passed. Though we believe they have diluted our majority in the board,” said Nilesh Shah, president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa.

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Chandigarh Transport Undertaking to restart bus services to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

After the Himachal Road Transport Corporation began its operations, the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) has also declared its intention to restart its inter-state bus service to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. According to the Director of Transport, Uma Shankar Gupta, CTU is planning to start the service in a couple of days. First to Dehradun, and then by next week the buses will go to Himachal Pradesh* as well. While the Uttarakhand government has given their consent for the bus services to restart, CTU is now waiting for the Himachal Pradesh government to do the same. Meanwhile, CTU has already resumed bus services to Punjab and Haryana, reaching places such as Panipat, Yamunanagar, Jind, Sirsa, and Hansi, among others in the state of Haryana. In Punjab, the buses have commenced to Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Bhatinda to name a few. Passengers need to come to terms with the latest guidelines when travelling by Chandigarh Transport Undertaking buses. The buses are to run at only 50 per cent occupancy, and social distancing is a must. Also, do not forget to put on your mask. You can purchase the tickets online for CTU buses, or you could use the organisation’s app, called CTU Musafir. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are already reporting the presence of tourists, and it seems that people are finally taking to travel after a gap of almost seven months. But it is very important to travel sustainably, and to remember to respect the locals as well as locales. Now, more than ever.

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