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Delhi to London—World's longest bus voyage to start in 2021

For travellers waiting for the epic long road trip of a lifetime, Adventures Overland has announced the most epic bus journey in the world all set to start in the year 2021. Yes, the Bus to London, will be the first-ever hop-on/hop-off bus service from India’s capital Delhi to London in the United Kingdom’s London. Touring 18 countries in 70 days The post further adds that as a part of the tour, people will travel through 18 countries, covering 20,000 km in 70 days! The journey will be undertaken in a luxury bus, well-equipped for comfort travel. The 20,000 km long journey will cover 18 countries in 70 days. The tourists on board will spend time in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK. Trip divided into 4 major destinations Leg 1 will cover India, Myanmar, Thailand whereas Leg 2 will cover China’s Sichuan and Xinjiang provinces, which feature trips to famous locations including the Great Wall of China, Silk Route and Gobi Desert among others. The caravan will then move forward to Central Asia’s Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. The final leg will cover European countries like Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. The bookings for this trip have started, but not more than 20 passengers will be allowed on board by the organisers. As per their policy, preference will be given to the passengers who pay for the full journey. Other details: 1. Mode of travel: customised luxury bus for exceptional comfort 2. Trip cost: INR 15 lakhs per person 3. Duration: Leg 1 (11N/12D), Leg 2 (15N/16D), Leg 3 (21N/22D), Leg 4 (15N/16D) 4. Vegetarian food: Available (locally available limited options and ready-to-eat) 5. Inclusions: Hotel stay on twin-sharing basis, visas and standard tourist visa fee, border crossing assistance, experienced English-speaking guide etc. 6. Exclusions: International/Domestic flight ticket, urgent tourist visa, meals and drinks not mentioned in the inclusions, medical expenses incurred during the trip etc.

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Process on to open up Darjeeling Hills to tourists from Sept

Darjeeling: From September 7th hotels and homestays could open up in the Darjeeling Hills. Representatives of the travel trade, hotel owners and transporters held a meeting to decide the way forward for the tourism industry, reeling under a major crisis. Subject to a nod from the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) it was decided that hotels and homestays in the Hills would open up from September. "Covid-19 cannot be stopped by just keeping everything closed. A meeting was held on Sunday to decide the way forward. A resolution was adopted that with the approval of the GTA and following all necessary Government protocols hotels and homestays will open up from September 7," stated Tanmoy Goswami, Coordinator, HHTDN. The meeting held at the Gymkhana Club, Darjeeling, resolved that industry representatives, along with approaching the GTA for a go ahead, will also request the GTA to sensitize the local welfare organizations (Samaj) in the towns and villages to ensure them that all necessary safety measures are being adopted to ensure safe tourism. "Along with requesting the GTA to formulate a protocol for safe and sustainable tourism, the GTA will also be approached so that health checkup camps can be run in the entry points of the Hills (Darjeeling and Kalimpong.) Tourists can then be screened before entering the Hills," stated Goswami. On July 1, hotels opened up in the Darjeeling Hills and Dooars. However with Covid-19 positive cases on the rise, and instances of protests from local residents, fearing further spread of the virus, the GTA had hurriedly shut doors to tourists. "The tour and travel industry, which is the economic mainstay of this region is incurring a daily loss of around 19 Crore Rupees," added Samrat Sanyal, General Secretary, Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network. A well defined roadmap devised with thorough consultation with stakeholders and local communities is the need of the hour prescribed travel trade industry Pundits, Every year around 8 lakh domestic and 40,000 foreign tourists visit the Darjeeling Hills.

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Caravan tourism on the rise as states ease travel restrictions

With some states having resumed inter-state tourism, many are backing caravan tourism. While Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have introduced caravan tourism in the state, allowing travellers to hire a fully-equipped van with convertible beds, a shower, modern toilet, smart TV, music system, and a kitchenette, others may follow suit soon. The rise in the number of people renting caravans is at 15 per cent this year and people from the tourism field predict that the number will further rise as other states ease travel restrictions. As far as safety is concerned, the owner of a caravan renting agency in Uttarakhand, Sunil Guha says, “We ensure that surfaces of the vans are sterilised, and the upholstery and linen are steamed. Travellers can also use an Android app to control most of the operations, so they don’t have to touch the surfaces.” He adds. Good option in the current crisis, say travellers In the first phase, the Karnataka govt has opened popular destinations like Hampi, Gokarna, Badami, Kudremukh and others for caravan tourism. Recently, Natasha Colacom CEO of a money exchange app, and her husband took a road trip to Hampi. She says, “It is always a good idea to travel within the state. The campers are so luxurious that I chose to be inside and cook. Once we parked in Hampi, we went out for sightseeing. We took all precautions after stepping out too.” Likewise, Mohit Verma, owner of a salon in Jabalpur, took his wife and kids on a two-day caravan road trip to Pachmarhi in MP recently. “Monsoon road trips are a regular feature for us. This time, we hired a caravan, camped on the hill station, lit a bonfire and had good food,” he says. #VanLife is one of the trending travel topics of 2020. For many, work-from-home has turned into work-from-caravan as well. PR professional Sonika Guhathakurta from Mumbai is travelling with her boyfriend on the coastlines of Konkan, with proper permissions, and both are working from their caravan, while enjoying a staycation. “Being locked down for months in a Bandra apartment almost ruined our relationship. But travelling together while working and being amidst nature has been therapeutic,” she says. Jeeshan Alam from Goa is doing the same with his boyfriend. “We don’t have to work from office. We have our workstation set inside the caravan and we are road tripping with our dogs. After months of lockdown, we needed this breather,” says Jeeshan. The cost factor: Costs for renting caravans depend on the state, and the amenities you choose. Madhya Pradesh: Rs 60 per kilometre plus taxes, with a minimum travel limit of 250 km Uttarakhand: Between Rs 25000 and Rs 40000 per day Karnataka: Between Rs 25000 and Rs 90000 a day

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Flight ticket prices may increase from next month

Air travel may be slightly costlier from next month as the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday decided to charge a higher aviation security fee, or ASF, from domestic as well as international passengers from September 1. Airlines collect the ASF from passengers at the time of booking flight tickets and the amount then goes to the government. The fee is used by the central government to fund the security arrangement at airports across the country. As a result, ASF for domestic passengers will be increased to Rs 160 from Rs 150, while the fee for international flyers will be raised to 5.2 USD instead of 4.85 USD from September. This is the second year in a row the government has increased the aviation fee. Last year, the ministry had announced that domestic passengers would be charged Rs 150 instead of Rs 130 as the ASF and international passengers would have to pay 4.85 USD instead of USD 3.25 as the ASF from July 1, 2019. Aviation is among the worst-hit sectors due to the coronavirus pandemic. Air travel was completely shut for more than two months since the nationwide lockdown in March. Although domestic flights resumed from May 25, the average occupancy rate has been around just 50-60 per cent. Meanwhile, international commercial flights continue to be suspended, barring special repatriation flights in certain air bubbles – the USA, the UK, France, Germany, the UAE, Qatar and Maldives – under the Vande Bharat Mission. Earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced that India was establishing more bilateral air bubble arrangements with 13 countries.

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Thailand to allow long-stay tourists in island of Phuket from October

Thailand will allow foreign tourists to visit for longer stays from October, a senior official said on Friday, as the government tries to revive a key economic sector that has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Tourists will have to stay for at least 30 days, with the first 14 days in quarantine in a limited vicinity of their hotel, before they can visit other areas, Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters. The announcement comes after authorities suspended plans to create ‘travel bubbles’ with partner countries as the number of coronavirus cases in Asia rose. Visitors will have to take two coronavirus tests during quarantine before they are able to travel to the rest of the island, Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, said on Thursday. Staff will also have to remain in the hotel, he added. Visitors will have to take an additional test and remain within the province for another week before they can travel to other parts of the country. Thailand has gone nearly three months without a confirmed case of a local COVID-19 transmission. It has recorded over 3,300 cases. The government’s coronavirus taskforce on Friday extended a state of emergency for another month until the end of September to control the outbreak. The tourism-reliant economy has been battered by the collapse of global travel as infections spread. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy shrank 12.2% in the second quarter from a year earlier, the worst contraction since the 1998 Asian crisis due to the pandemic impact. The country expects to receive 8 million foreign tourists this year. By comparison, it had a record 39.8 million tourists in 2019.

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After hotels and monuments, banquet halls to be opened

The minister said the tourism sector has faced severe challenges due to the pandemic. However, this pandemic has also opened new opportunities for development and getting all stakeholders together to fight against this situation, Patel said. After hotels and monuments, banquet halls will soon be opened at half capacity, Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel said on Thursday, assuring the hospitality industry of his support to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking at a webinar organized by the Ph.D. Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the minister said the tourism sector has faced severe challenges due to the pandemic. However, this pandemic has also opened new opportunities for development and getting all stakeholders together to fight against this situation, Patel said. “We have been able to give some help to the industry in the best way possible. We have been able to open all the monuments, hotels and soon we will be able to open the banquet halls in half capacity. We have been able to revive air travel to a certain extent and we will continue to increase it,” he said.

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