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Kerala Rolls Out Tourism Projects Worth ₹ 60 Crore

Eyeing the post-pandemic upsurge in tourism activities, Kerala has rolled out a string of new projects at a cost of ₹ 60 crore, giving greater visibility to 25 spots, many of them in rural and semi-urban areas along the length and breadth of the state. Inaugurating the projects through video conference, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday that tourism in the state is on the comeback trail from the pandemic-induced crisis and the government was committed to providing all support to the sector. He noted that the government did not allow the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to come in the way of implementation of tourism development projects in the state, which will position these destinations as must-see places for visitors. "In Kerala, tourism is a source of income for large sections of people. After remaining shut for eight months due to the pandemic, tourism centres in the state have started receiving visitors by strictly adhering to health protocols, thereby restoring livelihood of the people affected by the disruption," the Chief Minister said. The promotion of "Responsible Tourism" in a big way has brought benefit to local communities throughout the state, and the newly launched projects will boost their income, he said. "Also, it will help preserve our heritage including art, handicraft, unique farming methods and cuisine," he said. Noting that "Responsible Tourism" has its emphasis on conservation of ecology and heritage, Mr Vijayan said "air, soil, water, flora and fauna and art and culture are our common assets, and tourism in Kerala is based on this invaluable inheritance." Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the new projects will help tourism overcome the crisis and maintain its status as India's ''Super Brand.'' "Tourism is a key component of the states' revenue and a major employment provider. So, tourism development projects are planned and implemented to achieve sustainable development goals," Mr Surendran added. Rani George, Principal Secretary, Tourism, said the state had launched a new marketing campaign called ''Change of Air'' to help tourism overcome the ravages of the pandemic and maintain its status as India's ''Super Brand.'' The new projects were being implemented in such a way that the local community will be the principal beneficiary, the official said.

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Jammu and Kashmir Tourism to organise Nowruz Festival, Baisakhi Mela to bring Eco Park on tourism map

Director, Tourism, Kashmir, Dr. GN Itoo Tuesday visited Eco Park, Khadniyar, Baramulla and inspected various works being executed by NBCC, Gulmarg Development Authority and Tourism Department for its further development and beautification. Taking an on the spot review of the works being undertaken at the park, the Director Tourism asked the officers to complete all the works by March-end and instructed them to strictly monitor the works on a regular basis for smooth execution of the projects. He was informed about the damages caused to the infrastructure due to recent snowfall and other issues including proper water supply to the park. Dr. Itoo gave on spot instructions for the resolution of all the issues besides carrying out immediate repair works to the damaged infrastructure, restoration of amusement park for children and its up-gradation. He directed the officers to maintain the highest standard of works and complete them by March-end so that visitors can have all facilities here in the upcoming spring and summer seasons and the park, which has become a landmark on the Baramulla-Uri National Highway, emerges as an important tourist stop over. The Director Tourism further said that the department will also explore developing a cycle track near the park to encourage adventure, recreational and eco-friendly sports activities among the locals and tourists equally. He also visited the Igloo hut at the park and other assets and said that a modern eco-friendly cafe will also be developed to provide food outlet facilities for the visitors. Dr. Itoo said in the coming summer season, both private and public school children of the catchment areas will be invited to the park for camping and also day-long excursions to increase the visitors’ flow to the park. He further informed that the park will also have a beautiful state of art solar light illumination system being installed jointly by NBCC and Engineering Wing of the Tourism Department. The Director Tourism said the Eco Park has a huge tourism potential and the department in collaboration with district administration will promote and explore adventure, heritage, leisure, religious and recreational tourism. In this regard, he said the department will organise Nowruz festival on March 21 which will be followed by a bigger Mela on Baisakhi to make this place popular on the tourism map and tap the tourism and adventure potential of this area fully. On the tourism potential of Baramulla district, the Director Tourism said a cable car project from Khadniyar to Bosian at the Ecopark is being explored and in this regard a detailed project report will soon be undertaken. He said besides this various spots in the district which have emerged as potential tourist attractions like Guwas, Namblan fall, Kiterdaji etc. would be developed as regular tourist destinations. Dr. Itoo sought the cooperation from the locals for the preservation of the park so that visitors can come in large numbers which can change the socio-economic status of the area. The locals on the occasion appreciated the department for taking a keen interest in bringing Baramulla on the tourism map.

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Assam Govt to Discontinue Mandatory COVID-19 Testing at Airports & Railway Stations

In view of rapidly declining cases of COVID-19 cases in India along with the state of Assam, the state government has decided to discontinue mandatory testing at railway stations, land routes and airports effective from March 1, 2021. In a Tweet, the Assam State Health Minister Himanata Biswa Sarma wrote, "In view of rapidly declining cases of #COVID19 & given that vaccination is in full swing, GoA has decided to discontinue mandatory testing at rly stations, land routes & airports from March 1, 2021. It's expected however that people would adhere to #Covid appropriate behaviour." Before this decision, the Assam state government has announced a new set of guidelines for air passengers travelling to Assam. Making things easy for travellers passengers coming to Assam via flights had to undergo COVID test at the Guwahati airport itself. Meanwhile, anyone travelling within the state and between Northeastern states would no longer need to go for mandatory COVID testing. Earlier in October 2020, the government of Assam has already eased COVID-19 rules for the flight passengers. It said that the passengers coming in from outside Assam do not have to go for a mandatory test if they had already done a test in their place of origin, 72 hours before their travelling. However, they will have to carry important documents along with them. Sarma also mentioned that children below 10 years of age do not have to go for mandatory testing. It solely depends upon their parents if they want their child to undergo the test or not.

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Jaisalmer Opts for Community-Managed Tourism Revival

The stakeholders in the tourism industry in Jaisalmer have come up with a first-of-its-kind initiative. The economy of Jaisalmer, heavily dependent on tourism, took a massive hit due to the pandemic. The low number of travellers in last year has led to one of the major flight operators—SpiceJet—to suspend their direct flights from cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad to Jaisalmer due to losses. In order to revive the tourism sector, various stakeholders such as hotel owners, taxi operators, tour operators and guide associations, along with allied parties and the district administration, have come up with a mutually-convenient tourism initiative. An MoU was signed between these stakeholders and SpiceJet to ensure uninterrupted flight service to Jaisalmer. Spearheaded by a non-profit organisation—I Love Jaisalmer—the initiative aims to reduce the losses of the airline, while working closely with the community and pooling their resources. This community-led, self-reliant initiative aims to bring back tourism to the city with the setting up of mechanisms and platforms to boost air ticket sales, and by ensuring flight connectivity from Delhi and Ahmedabad for six days each week. “The idea of pooling resources for shared problems isn’t new to Jaisalmer," says Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, President, I Love Jaisalmer. "Everybody associated with the tourism industry decided to find a way out collectively. The city is expecting to hold Annual Jaisalmer Desert Festival in end of February, cancelled earlier. Most of the hotels In Jaisalmer are booked for the next one month and the city is expecting good tourism ahead. Way forward, we plan, Jaisalmer as a destination for night tourism. Festivals, events and development of ancillary industry is linchpin for development of regional tourism.” The first flight of this citizen-airline partnership will take off on February 12, 2021.

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Valentine's Day brings cheer to travel and tourism industry

This Valentine's Day, young Indians are looking forward to spending quality time with their partners this weekend, according to travel and hotel booking websites. Goibibo said more than 70% of the bookings for the weekend starting February 13 have been made for couple-friendly hotels and this is only expected to increase as the Valentine's Day approaches. “Since the unlock phase, we are seeing strong growth momentum within the couple-friendly segment. In terms of the duration, more than 78% hotel properties are booked for a day –with many opting for three star or budget category hotels,” said Sunil Suresh, group chief marketing officer, goibibo. Yatra.com said this year, they have witnessed around 20% hike in demand for staycation options and driveway destinations as customer confidence is building up. “In 2021, for accommodation, we have seen a surge in enquiries for options such as homestays, cottages, and premium and luxury hotel properties," said Sabina Chopra, co-founder and COO, corporate travel & head industry relations of Yatra.com. The metro cities which have witnessed a rise in enquiries or bookings for staycations are Bengaluru followed by Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Kolkata. Additionally, destinations like Goa, Jaipur, Darjeeling and Coorg have seen adequate occupancy rise as well. Travel portals are also offering discounts to attract passengers. For instance, Cleartrip is offering up to ₹2,000 on round trips for bookings done between February 8 and 11 for travel between February 12 and 14. “There is also a possible long weekend for some with Basant Panchami on February 16, which is a Tuesday,” said Rajiv Subramanian, vice president, Cleartrip. “Goa has been the preferred leisure destination in the post lockdown period and this has continued for the Valentine's Day weekend. The increase in advance bookings, i.e. booking more than 30 days in advance was noticed for the Valentine's Day period. We have seen the share of 5-star and 4-star hotels increasing to account for more than 70% of our bookings,” said Subramanian.

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Ayodhya railway station to become largest in the state after renovation

Ayodhya is all set to become a major tourist destination in India’s map, the Indian Railways will renovate the town’s railway station to be able to accommodate the passenger traffic of one lakh passengers per day and thus make it the biggest in the state. According to the TOI, the developmental work will start in two phases. The initial phase will feature work on a mela shed, double-storeyed building, circulating area, dormitory, sick rooms, and two foot over bridges, food court, escalators, elevators, air-conditioned retiring rooms, LED billboards, furnished rooms for railway staff and other amenities. The first phase would get over by September 2021, and it would enable the station to handle 25000 passengers on festivals like Ram Navami, Diwali, Dussehra, Chaudah Kosi and Chaurasi Kosi parikrama. The second phase would focus on developing a large waiting and parking zone for pilgrims towards the south of the railway station after getting land from the Uttar Pradesh government. After the second phase gets over, the station would be able to handle one lakh passengers. The dome of the renovated station will have structures similar to Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. News also has it that Faizabad station will be renamed as Ayodhya Cantt railway station. In addition, there will be an international airport in Ayodhya, close to the railway station.

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