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Amit Shah launches Destination North East-2020 to promote region’s tourism, culture and business

Coinciding with World Tourism Day, Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated Destination North East 2020, a four-day festival to promote and showcase the region’s tourism, culture, heritage and business. The inauguration took place through video conferencing and was attended by Union minister for development of north east region (DONER) Jitendra Singh and the chief ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim. “I have been to several places within the country and abroad and visited many tourist destinations. But I don’t think I have seen such natural beauty in any place except northeast,” Shah said. Destination Northeast is an annual festival organised by the DONER ministry with the objective of showcasing and celebrating the region to other parts of the country in order to strengthen national integration. The theme for this year’s event is ‘The Emerging Delightful Destinations’ and will be a virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “The festival held earlier at Varanasi, Chandigarh and Delhi had attracted lots of visitors and educated people in those places about the northeast. I hope the next festival is held at my constituency Gandhinagar in Gujarat,” Shah said. Stressing on the need for peace in the once strife-torn region in order to promote tourism and investment, the Union home minister said since 2014 steps taken by the Centre have helped replace violence with development. “Importantly, people in the region have preserved and promoted their rich and diverse languages, traditions and culture beautifully despite a lot of challenges. I am sure with the initiatives taken by our government, the region will become one of the most sought after tourist destinations in coming years,” he added. Calling the region a prized ornament, Shah said that without the Northeast’s culture assimilating with the rest of India, the country’s culture can never be called complete. Shah mentioned the Centre’s Act East Policy, which aims to open the Northeast region for trade and tourism with South East Asia and listed the initiatives taken in the past six years for development and connectivity in the region. “At the time of the country’s independence the northeast contributed nearly 20% of India’s GDP, but it gradually declined over the years. Our efforts are to ensure that it reaches those levels again,” he said.

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Unlock 5.0 Guidelines: More Relaxations Likely as Cinema, Tourism Sector Look to Make Recovery

With the fourth stage of lockdown drawing to an end, the Union Home Ministry will soon be announcing a slew of relaxations for October. Earlier, in a key development, the MHA had allowed metro trains to resume services. The ministry had also said that more curbs would be eased in the coming days and activities would slowly be permitted in areas outside the containment zones. As industries look to make gains during the festival season, more relaxations are expected under Unlock 5.0 which will come into effect from October 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week, asked states to reassess if lockdowns of one or two days are effective in containing Covid-19 and told them to press on with full strength in opening economic activities while fighting the virus. Against this backdrop, industries and sectors are batting for more easing of restrictions. Previously, the Ministry of home affairs (MHA) had permitted public places like restaurants, malls and salons to resume operations. Under the Unlock 5.0 guidelines, more activities are expected to be allowed from October with social distancing norms in place. However, despite repeated requests by the Multiplex Association of India, the MHA has allowed only open-air theatres to be opened, from September 21. Notably, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Saturday that cinema halls and open-air theatres will be allowed to operate in West Bengal from October 1 with a limited number of participants. Meanwhile, the embattled tourism sector recently saw marginal recovery with the reopening of tourist spots, including Taj Mahal. The Odisha government announced on Sunday, that it would reopen all tourist centres from October. The state's tourism minister JP Panigrahi said his department had drawn out a master plan to promote several destinations in a bid to attract tourists. Under the Unlock 5.0 guidelines, more tourist sites and places are expected to be open for people. A decision on resumption of normal classes in schools and colleges was taken and students from Classes 9-12 were asked to attend schools from September 21 on a voluntary basis. The system is likely to continue during the next month. However, Hindustan Times, citing sources aware of the developments, reported that primary classes would stay shut for some more weeks. Universities and colleges have already commenced their admission examinations and the new academic year may start through the online mode.

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Ministry of Tourism launches SAATHI app for hospitality industry on World Tourism Day

NEW DELHI: The ministry of Tourism celebrated world tourism day on Sunday through a virtual event and launched the SAATHI application for the hospitality industry. The ministry said SAATHI is an initiative of the tourism ministry with the Quality Council ofIndia to assist the hospitality industry in continuing to operate safely and instill condence among sta, employees and guests about the safety of the hotels and units. Union minister of petroleum and natural gas and steel Dharmendra Pradhan was the chief guest for the event. Tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel, Yogendra Tripathi, secretary, ministry of tourism, Meenakshi Sharma, director general, tourism, Rakesh Kumar Verma- joint secretary, tourism , additional DG(tourism)-Rupinder Brar and other oicials of the ministry also participated in the virtual event. The app was launched by Pradhan who also launched a lm ‘Pathik’, an initiative on Incredible India Tourist Facilitators Certification Programme (IITFC) and an ICPB MICE promotional lm. The ministry said the objective of the ICPB Mice promotional lm is to communicate a positive message for welcoming events to India when competing destinations are already actively marketing their products. United Nations orld Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has designated 2020 as the year of tourism and rural development. The tourism ministry said the year is an opportunity to promote the potential of tourism to create jobs and opportunities. Pradhan appreciated the eorts of the ministry of tourism in launching the SAATHI application and the online learning module IITFC. He also lauded the ministry’s eort of showcasing Indian culture, heritage and lesser known destinations, cuisines etc through the webinar series Dekho Apna Desh. Talking about sustainable environment, he said operating boats at tourist spots could substitute petrol, diesel, kerosene with CNG/LPG which are pollution free. He also emphasised on using battery operated vehicles in and around tourist spots. Addressing the event, tourism minister Patel reiterated the vision of the prime minister asking every citizen to visit at least 15 destinations by the year 2022 to promote domestic tourism. He said that the ministry of tourism has launched the Dekho Apna Desh (DAD) initiative in January 2020 with the objective of creating awareness among the citizens about the rich heritage and culture of the country, encouraging citizens to travel widely within the country and enhancing tourist footfalls leading to development of local economy and creation of jobs at the local level.

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Jammu and Kashmir launch first-of-its-kind open roof luxury bus service

Jammu and Kashmir Tourism authorities have kick-started a one-of-its-kind open-roof tourist luxury bus service as a part of border tourism initiative. According to the reports, the bus service in Jammu was flagged off with the slogan Chalo Suchetgarh Border. Reportedly, the Garud Seva Open-Roof bus service has been launched to mark the 41st World Tourism Day, which was celebrated on September 27, while following all the COVID-19 safety rules at different tourist places across Jammu and Kashmir. As told to a news website by a spokesperson, the newly launched open-roof bus will operate daily from Jammu at around 10:30 AM towards Suchetgarh border for tourist sightseeing. It will also cover other destinations on the way such as Gharana wetland where migratory birds visit from around the world. The World Tourism Day was celebrated by the Directorate of Tourism, Jammu, at destinations such as Katra, Bhimgarh Fort, Suchetgarh Border, Reasi, Mansar, Basholi, Patnitop, Kishtwar, Kishtwar and Poonch. Local tour and travel firms as well as hotel associations and taxi unions also participated in the celebrations. News has it that the main function was hosted at the Suchetgarh border with the support of senior officers of BSF’s 36 battalion. The Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir, also organised a function at Nehru Park in Srinagar which comprised a kayaking, shikara race and canoeing. More than 50 boatmen dressed in traditional attire (pheran) took part in the shikara race, thus, rendering a festive appearance to the Dal Lake. Earlier in the day, Hafeez flagged off a rally of mountain bikers at TRC from Srinagar to Doodpathri in central Kashmir's Budgam district.

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Odisha : CM Naveen Patnaik announces opening of tourism with safety plan

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced opening of tourism sector that was badly hit due to a series of lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak. At an event organised to mark World Tourism Day, he called upon tourists to visit Odisha and enjoy stays amid safety protocols. Reiterating the State Government’s commitment to unlock its vast potential in a post-pandemic world, Naveen said Odisha’s treasure of timeless monument, heritage, idyllic natural beauty, captivating landscape, diverse flora and fauna are travellers’ delight. “This year’s World Tourism Day theme - Rural Tourism - is in line with Government’s initiative being practiced for the last five years. Our award winning initiative of eco-tourism nature camps run successfully by the local communities has been contributing to rural economy,” he said. The Chief Minister also launched ‘Odisha by Road’ campaign and announced a chain of authentic Odia cuisine restaurants ‘Nimantran’ as part of new revival initiatives of the Tourism department. A superbike rally, Kalinga Rides, was flagged off to launch the ‘Odisha by Road’ campaign on this occasion. The campaign aims to encourage tourists from within the State as well as from the neighbouring states to travel to various tourist destinations through the excellent network of roads, camp at eco-tour natural sites in the hinterlands of the State. Flagging off the rally, Tourism and Culture Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi stressed the importance of tourist safety while focusing on revival of the tourism sector in post-pandemic times. Panigrahi said the promotion of Odia cuisine is much warranted since this aspect of Odia culture has so far been largely unexplored. The need for promotion of a variety of traditional Odia cuisines will be covered by the initiative through Nimantran chain of restaurants. The chain of restaurants will be managed by Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) through a dedicated wing and a variety of menu of authentic Odia cuisine drawn from various districts of Odisha will be catered in these restaurants. OTDC had recently launched a day picnic package ‘Bana Bhoji’ that is expected to boost tourism among the Odia tourists by arranging visits to nearby nature camps. OTDC chairperson Shreemayee Mishra, Tourism Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev and Director Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav were present.

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Saudi Arabia sees quick tourism rebound after domestic boom

Saudi Arabia is preparing for a quick rebound in tourism and hasn’t revised its visitor targets for 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic, Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb said. As the government prepares to reopen its borders to foreign tourists in January, the kingdom is using its presidency of the Group-of-20 biggest economies to facilitate a resumption of global travel, Al-Khateeb said in an interview on Saturday. “If countries today open their borders, we will be fit to run fast, and this is the plan,” said Al-Khateeb, a key adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “We believe people want to travel and they will continue to travel, but we need countries to coordinate their actions.” The pandemic forced Saudi Arabia to shut its borders in March, thwarting the government’s ambitions to expand its travel industry six months after allowing vacationers to visit the country for the first time. While the number of international visitors slumped, a boom in domestic tourism surpassed official projections and helped offset that decline, he said. Diversifying Economy Tourism is an important part of Saudi Arabia’s plans to diversify the oil-dependent economy. The virus has devastated the industry globally, with the World Travel and Tourism Council predicting the loss of 100 million jobs. Official tourism targets for next year remain unchanged, Al-Khateeb said, and the government still plans to expand the sector to make up 10% of economic output by 2030. “We built the ecosystem, we have the international campaigns ready, we have developed the visitor experience and we are ready to capture the numbers we promised to capture,” he said. Al-Khateeb told Reuters in April that Saudi tourism could shrink as much as 45% this year. With leisure travel so new -- the government granted about 500,000 visas before closing its borders -- tourism mostly consists of Islamic religious pilgrimages, which were suspended in March. Since then, a surge in domestic travel that was 50% larger than officials projected, helped save businesses and jobs, Al-Khateeb said. Ten sites where the government chose to promote summer travel generated 8.6 billion riyals ($2.3 billion) from June 25 to Aug. 31, a 31% increase from last year, Al-Khateeb said. Hotel occupancy at those sites rose to about 80% over the summer, compared to just 5% earlier in the pandemic, he added. A $4 billion tourism development fund created by the government in June signed its first deal a few days ago, and has “five other projects in the pipeline before the end of the year,” Al-Khateeb said. The fund agreed to collaborate with Al Oula Group to finance the development of a five-star hotel operated by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc., part of a 40,000 square meter waterfront project in the city of Khobar. The country launched its first cruise last month -- though the maiden voyage was halted after a suspected coronavirus case. Sailings have since resumed. Saudi Arabia reported about 330,000 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. Daily new cases have declined by 90% since peaking in June. The death rate, while still relatively low, has crept up, reaching 1.4% on Saturday, compared with 0.5% in May.

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