News

UAE approves multiple-entry tourist visas for all nationalities

As per the latest news developments, the UAE Cabinet has approved a proposal for multiple tourist entry visas for all nationalities. This move comes in the wake of reviving tourism in the Emirates. Reportedly, the cabinet also approved 'Virtual Visa', which is a new visa category that will enable people to work online from Dubai irrespective of where their office is located. As the multiple entry tourist visa facility will be made available for all nationalities, this visa will come with a validity of 90 days, which will restrict re-entry after the expiry of approved three months validity. Reports have it that this new proposal will enable people to enter and exit the Emirates multiple times. The new rule is in line with several initiatives that has recently been approved by the Cabinet during a meeting that was chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, and the Ruler of Dubai. This move is also aimed at positioning the UAE as an ideal tourist and work destination. Sheikh Mohammed assured that the government will make all efforts to continue developing flexible initiatives and programmes to develop UAE as one of the world’s best governments to provide the best quality of life for residents and citizens. Also, to attract expertise and talents from across the world, the UAE Cabinet approved a new Remote Work Visas scheme which will enable remote workers from all over the world to work remotely from the UAE. It will be a one-year visa that will allow foreigners to enter the UAE under self-sponsorship, apart from working in line with the terms and conditions that will come along with the visa.

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Kashmir is all set to have a successful spring tourist season

With the opening of the historic Badamwari garden, tulip garden and shikara rides, the Jammu and Kashmir government is geared up for a successful spring tourist season. Tourism Director Ghulam Nabi Itoo told ANI, "Festivals are lined for the upcoming tourist season. We have made arrangements for the tourists to experience local traditions and customs." Recently, the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism department had organised roadshows in different states of the country including Poona, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Jaipur, said Itoo. Meanwhile, a number of tourists are enjoying the spring season here. A tourist from Jaipur said she is enjoying the pleasant weather and beautiful nature while riding a shikara. Wali Mohamad, the president of Shikara Association said that they are hopeful that a large number of people will come to the state for vacation and enjoy the beauty of Dal lake. Tour and travel operator Hafeez Shawl said several hotels have been opened and they are ready to welcome tourists from across the world.

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Nature Safari, Cabin car ropeway at Rajgir to be inaugurated on Mar 26

Nature Safari, first of its kind in the country, will be opened for the visitors on March 26 at Rajgir. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will inaugurate the Safari. Besides, the much-awaited cabin car ropeway at Ratnagiri hills too will be launched on the occasion. The Nature Safari -- developed by the department of forests, environment and climate change over 500 hectares of land near the wrestling site of mythological character Jarasandh at the heritage city with a budget of ₹19. 20 crore -- will be offering the visitors unique experiences of glass sky walk, suspension bridge, adventure park and butterfly zone. Not just that, the Safari may also interest all those who love adventure sports as the site offers zones like archery range, rock climbing, wrestling zone, rope cycling, spiral sliding, etc. The ropeway which will also be inaugurated by the chief minister on March 26, is an eight-seater cabin car ropeway which has been developed recently by the state tourism department to offer the tourists a more convenient and safer air journey to the Vishwa Shanti Stupa located atop the Ratnagiri hills at Rajgir. Neeraj Kumar Singh, forest minister, said very soon people will be able to visit the Nature Safari. “The facility will be launched on March 26,” he said. Gopal Singh, a senior forest official, said both the Nature Safari and the new ropeway will be launched before the festival of Holi. “The Safari is expected to evoke wide interest because of the unique experiences. The glass sky walk is the first such facility in the country. Even the suspension bridge is expected to woo those who love adventure,” he said. An official at the Safari, who did not want to be quoted, said, preparations for the launch are going in full swing. “Ticket counter has been planned near the entry point of the Safari. However, rate of the entry ticket is yet to be decided,” he said. Santosh Kumar Mall, principal secretary, state tourism, said the new cabin car ropeway is quite spacious and convenient. “Ramp has been created to enable the tourists to enjoy car ride. Besides, arrangement has also been made for safe landing of the cabin car in case there’s an emergency,” he said.

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Rajasthan: Night curfew in 8 cities from today, visitors told to carry COVID negative report

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Rajasthan government has decided to impose night curfew in eight cities from Monday and also made it mandatory for people visiting the state to carry a COVID-19 negative test report. Officials said the night curfew will be imposed in Ajmer, Bhilwara, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur, Sagwada (Dungarpur) and Kushalgarh (Banswara) from 11 pm to 5 am, they said. The decisions were taken during a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. It was decided that travellers coming to Rajasthan from other states will have to carry RT-PCR negative reports (not older than 72 hours) from March 25, officials said. If the RT-PCR test report of travellers are not negative, they would have to remain in quarantine for 15 days, officials said. It was also decided that markets in urban local bodies will close by 10 pm. Rajasthan on Saturday reported 445 fresh coronavirus cases, which pushed the state’s infection count to 3,24,948, according to an official report.

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Maldives tourist arrivals surpass 247,000-mark

Maldives tourist arrival count has surpassed the 247,000 mark. By Thursday, a total of 247,138 tourists had arrived in the island nation, a popular holiday destination among zealous travelers. This is 40.2 percent less than the number of tourists recorded for the same period last year, where 381,409 arrivals were recorded. The Ministry also shared that an average of 3,210 tourists were visiting the Maldives every day based on their statistics, with duration of stay recorded at an average of nine days. So far in March, Maldives has welcomed 58,153 visitors and the highest daily arrivals were recorded on March 7 with 4,325 arrivals, whereas the lowest arrivals were recorded on March 10, with 2,368 arrivals. On Sunday, 4,101 tourists arrived in the country, followed by 2,775 on Monday and 2874 on Tuesday. While Wednesday saw 2,572 tourist arrivals, the number increased to 3,159 on Thursday. Further, India remains the top source market for tourist arrivals thus far, while it was ranked second before the Covid-19 pandemic began sweeping across the globe. India is followed by Russia and third comes Ukraine, which rose from the 23rd rank according to pre-Covid stats. A total of 682 tourist accommodation establishments are currently in operation with 45,527 beds across the Maldives. Latest statistics publicized by the Ministry of Tourism indicate that of the 682 tourist facilities, 385 are guesthouses with 7,026 operational beds, 149 resorts with 34,344 beds, 137 liveaboard vessels with 2,699 beds and 11 hotels are also in operation with 1,458 beds. The ministry revealed that guesthouses are in operation across 56 islands of 18 atolls, by Thursday’s end. On Tuesday the ministry had signed a lease agreement with FEDO Private Limited to develop a 100-room hotel in the beach of Kelaa island in Haa Alif atoll. The ministry boasts increasing tourist arrivals, which were snail-paced into the beginning of the country’s tourism-revival journey. As such, an optimistic tourism ministry revealed that the source markets are recovering, with “impressive” results. With this being said, the average growth rates of arrivals from the Central/Eastern Europe and South Asia had surpassed the pre-Covid rates by March 10, with individual markets within the Central/Eastern European region excelling as new markets emerge from the region and making the top 10 source markets for Maldives tourism. The country saw a record-breaking 1.7 million tourist arrivals during 2019 and an optimistic government set a vision to break the record with two million arrivals in 2020, which was foiled by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, due to which authorities halted issuing on-arrival visas on March 27 that year. Nearly four months later, Maldives tourism began reviving, albeit snail-paced at first, from July 15, arrivals began increasing steadily over the past couple of months. Maldives was able to exceed its new target of 545,000, by the end of December 2020 and aims to welcome 1.5 million tourist arrivals this ongoing year. Maldives will mark 50 years since the tourism industry’s inception, in 2022, which is to be celebrated as the golden year of tourism in Maldives.

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Travelling to Bihar from Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab? Know the latest guidelines

Amid the surge in Covid-19 cases, Bihar has made an RT-PCR test report mandatory for flyers from three states. So, if you are travelling to Bihar from Kerala, Maharashtra or Punjab, you must provide a negative RT-PCR test report. Customers without the report will be required to undergo a rapid antigen test upon arrival. "Make sure you or anyone you know is travelling to Bihar is aware of this," IndiGo said in a tweet. As many as 35,871 new COVID-19 cases and 17,741 recoveries were reported in India in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Thursday. On Wednesday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the state government has decided to increase the number of daily COVID-19 tests to 70,000 again. Kumar, who attended the interaction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Ministers on the COVID-19 situation, said the state government was alert. "The PM held a meeting with all CMs today on the COVID19 situation. Bihar government is alert. We will soon hold a meeting with all districts. It has been decided to take the number of daily tests to 70,000 again," Kumar told the media persons here.

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