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As Maldives reopens, India is likely to create special air bubble

India is considering establishing an air bubble or air travel bridge to the Maldives, which reopens for tourists on July 15 after a four-month shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Maldives government has made a formal request in this regard to New Delhi, and an agreement may be reached in the next two or three days, The Indian Express has learnt. President Ibrahim Solih announced on June 23 that the atoll nation would reopen resorts on its islands on July 15, and hotels in the populated centres, including in the capital Malé, on August 1. Visas will be free, on arrival, and there will be no compulsory quarantine. As of July 11, Maldives, which has a population of a little over 500,000, had 2,681 confirmed Covid-19 cases, of which 2,238 had recovered, and 13 patients had died. Since June 2, the country has had fewer than 50 daily positive cases – and even though this number rose to 64 on Saturday, it is considered a low corona-risk country. Establishing the air corridor will send out a strong signal of solidarity with the Solih government and the Maldives, government officials said. The economy of the Maldives, located to the southwest of India in the Indian Ocean, is almost entirely driven by tourism, which makes up 70 per cent of its GDP. The air bubble, officials said, would be a “special gesture” to a country with which India has had traditionally warm ties, but where in recent years, it has had to contend with growing Chinese influence. An air bubble would enable a limited number of flights to operate from select Indian airports to the Maldives even before Indian airports open to regular international flights. Sixteen international airlines have announced flights to the Maldives from July 15. While it remains to be seen how many Indian tourists might head to the islands at this point, the bubble will facilitate the return of some 6,000 Indians employed in the hospitality, health, and education sectors in the Maldives. They were evacuated by the Indian Navy to India in May. As many as 25,000 Indians work in the Maldives. Only two years ago, when relations between the two countries had dropped to their lowest point during the emergency imposed by then president Abdulla Yameen, job advertisements announced that “Indians need not apply”. Even those Indians who had got jobs before the crisis were not given visas. The matter was resolved in the months after Solih was voted to office in September 2018. The Maldivian government is laying out the red carpet for tourists with visas on arrival (Indian tourists had this facility before the pandemic, too), and no tests except for those with symptoms on arrival. Those who test positive will have the option of isolating themselves at their resort. According to Maldives media reports, 1,66,000 Indian tourists visited the country in 2019, more than double the previous year’s number. Only Chinese tourists arrived in bigger numbers (over 2,84,000). Indian tourists will also be tested a day before their departure from the Maldives, which officials said was a gesture by the Maldivian government to ensure that infected persons were not sent back.

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Jammu & Kashmir restarts tourism from tomorrow

The Jammu and Kashmir administration will throw open the union territory to tourists once again from tomorrow but in a phased manner. In the first phase, tourism sector will be partially opened for external visitors from outside Jammu and Kashmir, limited to tourists arriving by air only. "All incoming tourists must have confirmed hotel bookings for the duration of their stay. All incoming tourists must have confirmed return air tickets to any place outside J&K, either to their departure point or any other destination," an official order said. RT-PCR testing of all tourists at the airport on arrival is also mandatory. "Till the test result shows a negative result for COVID 19, a tourist will remain in the hotel where booking has been made and shall not be permitted to move out. A form to this effect shall have to be signed at the airport. Test results will normally arrive within 24 hours except in special circumstances. The hotel management shall be required to ensure compliance with this protocol," the order read. Those found violating the order shall attract penal action under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The administration has advised tourists above the age of 65 years to avoid coming to the union territory. The tourism sector, the backbone of J-K's economy, was the worst hit by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown in March. On July 8, the government opened gardens and parks to the public after 100 days of closure. According to the rules, taxis /transport facilities have to be pre-booked through hotel/travel agency, for which procedures will be put in place by Tourism department.

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Turkey Embassy in India Initiates Safe Tourism Certification Program For Indian Citizens

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey has introduced a set of measures called ‘Safe Tourism Certification Program’, which covers a broad range of measures including transportation, accommodation, health condition of employees of the facilities and passengers. The certificate, which is issued under the guidance of Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has been granted by international certification institutions. Its work is to document the fulfillment of high level of health and hygiene requirements by airline companies, airports and other transportation, accommodation and food and beverage facilities. How it Works: If any Indian citizen is planning to travel to Turkey, he or she can check which hotel, restaurant and facility has this ‘Safe Tourism Certificate’ which would allow them to choose from for a safe travel experience. What happens when an Indian traveller arrives in Turkey? Upon arrival in Turkey, the body temperature of passengers will be checked at airports. A passenger who has temperature higher than 37.8 Celcius (100.4 Fahrenheit) or showing any other symptoms of COVID-19 will be tested free of charge. If the test result is positive, the passenger will be referred to a hospital. The same procedure will be applied to all transit passengers as well. If the test result is negative, the passenger can continue on with his or her itinerary. No Indian passenger will be deported or be kept in quarantine due to the test result. What happens if an Indian tourist tests positive for COVID-19? For the passenger who has positive PCR test result, qualified health staff capable to respond promptly and well-equipped transfer vehicles will be ready at the airport for transportation to the health institutions. The patient will be transferred immediately to the nearest health institution and his or her treatment will start. The government will not implement any treatment without consent of the individual. What about cost of treatment and health insurance? If an Indian tourist is proven to be COVID-19 positive upon arriving in Turkey, he or she needs to be treated at a hospital. Treatment costs will be covered by his or her own health insurance which is also valid in Turkey. It is advisable for Indian travellers to buy medical insurance covering COVID 19 treatment as well before arriving in Turkey. Insurance packages can be purchased: 1. With tickets of contracted airlines 2. Inside the airport at points of sale before passport control 3. Online from tour operators What about visa and flight? Tourism and international flights, which were suspended in Turkey since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed from June 15, 2020. The visa application process for Indian travellers began on June 22, 2020. Turkey had officially communicated her readiness to re-start scheduled flights between India and Turkey as of July 10, 2020. For now the consent of the Government of India is being awaited.

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Norway reopening borders for tourism on July 15

Norway will officially be reopening its borders for tourism on July 15th, 2020 to most European countries including the UK. However, residents of Portugal, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Luxembourg will be excluded due to the high rate of covid-19 infection in those countries. With the exception of residents of Kronoberg, Skåne and Blekinge, Sweden also remains excluded. The news also means that Norwegians will be able to take summer vacations in places such as France, Spain, Italy and Greece without having to quarantine on when returning home to Norway. Countries that will be permitted to visit Norway without a 14 day quarantine starting on July 15th: Andorra Austria Belgium Republic of Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Malta Monaco Netherlands Norway Poland San Marino Slovakia Slovenia Spain Switzerland United Kingdom Non EU/Schengen Countries Permitted Into Norway : Norway will not allow any third-party countries without a 10 day quarantine at this time however they are making exceptions for the following people: -Workers with an employment contract -Students set to begin a course in the 2020/21 academic year -People from any country who hold a work or residence permit in Norway (10 day self-quarantine required)

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Jammu and Kashmir will soon reopen for tourism; govt to issue guidelines

Tourism is probably one of the worst-hit sectors by the pandemic lockdown worldwide. In India, every state and Union Territory is struggling. On similar lines, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is facing an unprecedented collapse, given more than a 10-month long closure it was in because of political reasons and then the COVID-19 outbreak. But now, the J&K administration has decided to reopen its parks and gardens to tourists to save the tourism sector. The authorities have decided to reopen the tourist attraction and will soon issue a detailed guideline along with standard operating procedure (SoP). The information was shared by the Principal Secretary Planning of J&K Rohit Kansal on Twitter, where he wrote, "The Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu issued the directions in a high-level meeting in Srinagar today". Baseer Ahmad Khan, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, also informed that all the public parks and gardens shall reopen from Wednesday. He also said that to visit these places tourists will have to follow the COVID-19 safety measures, such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and using sanitisers.

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Bali to Reopen Tourism Today

Indonesia’s resort island of Bali reopened after a three-month virus lockdown Thursday, allowing local people and stranded foreign tourists to resume public activities before foreign arrivals resume in September. Normally bustling beaches and streets on the idyllic Southeast Asian island emptied in early April except for special patrols to ensure health protocols to contain the coronavirus were observed. Authorities restricted public activities, closed the airport and shuttered all shops, bars, sit-down restaurants, public swimming pools and many other places on the island that’s home to more than 4 million people. The local government began lifting the limits Thursday, but tourists will face stringent rules in hotels, restaurants and on beaches, Bali Gov. I Wayan Koster said. Koster told a news conference ahead of the reopening the island will gradually reopen shuttered places to locals and the foreigners stranded there during the outbreak. The island will open to Indonesians from other parts of the country on July 31 and new foreign arrivals on September 11. The government established guidelines for reopening tourist spots and may close certain areas again if infections spike, he said. “The pandemic has hit tourism sector so badly while there is no certainty when it will end,” Koster said. “We have to revive economic activity to prevent Bali from new social problems due to increasing economic pressures.” Tourism is the main source of income for the island that is mainly Hindu in the mostly Muslim archipelago nation. The famed white-sand beaches and popular shopping areas on the “island of the gods” were deserted almost two decades ago when visitors were scared off by terrorism. The dark cloud of the suicide bombings that killed 202 mostly foreign tourists in 2002 lingered for years, but the island has worked to overcome that image. The total number of stranded tourists in Bali is not known, but more than 169,000 travellers came to Bali in March before the island closed its doors, according to government data. The data showed that some 2,500 travellers had extended their visas to avoid penalties for overstaying them before Indonesia’s government granted all tourists automatic extensions in late March. The Bali administration data showed the occupancy rate at Bali’s starred hotels plunged to 2.07% in May from 62.5% in December, before the outbreak hit. It down from 51.56% in May last year. Bali has recorded more than 1,900 cases of COVID-19, including 25 deaths. Indonesia has confirmed more than 68,000 cases and 3,359 fatalities, the most in Southeast Asia.

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