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Now, travel from Chandigarh to Hisar in just 45 min

Now, travel from Hisar to Chandigarh in just 45 min! Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar recently flagged off the first flight from Chandigarh to Hisar under the Center’s UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik). The inauguration was attended by the senior officials of Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). Referring to this, the Chief Minister added that this is for the first time in the country that a small aircraft in the form of air taxi will be used for services. Khattat added that in the 2nd phase, services for Hisar to Dehradun will be started on January 18, whereas in the 3rd phase, two more routes from Hisar to Dharamshala, and Chandigarh to Dehradun will be added on January 23. He elaborated that the company also plans to include Kullu, Shimla, and more Haryana routes in the coming future. The flagging off of the small aircraft from Chandigarh to Hisar marks the operationalisation of 54th airport under the UDAN scheme. Reportedly, till date, 54 airports, 307 routes, including 2 water aerodromes, and 5 heliports have been operationalised under the UDAN scheme, as per the Ministry of Civil Aviation. MoCA undertook the development of Hisar airport as it aligned with the dual objectives of UDAN scheme; it is a public licensed airport, and it is suitable for 18 seat type aircraft, thereby letting common citizens of the country fly, and also make air travel affordable and widespread in the country. Reports have it that the Government of India had sanctioned INR 28.60 crore to develop interim civil aviation operations. The land for Hisar Airport was handed over to the AAI for development and up-gradation, such as hangars, construction of the new terminal building, security equipment, strengthening of the runway, the ministry said. Now, Hisar airport is all ready, and more such short-haul flights will likely be added in the coming days.

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PM to flag off 6 express trains connecting Kevadia near Statue of Unity

In a first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off six express trains from Varanasi, Dadar, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Rewa and Chennai stations to Kevadia in Gujarat on Sunday where the statue of Unity is located. The Ahmedabad-Kevadia Janshatabdi train will also have a vistadome coach, which is specially designed to make train journeys scenic and memorable giving a boost to tourism. This express train service will provide direct connectivity to tourists visiting the tallest statue of the world, which has become a major attraction. Officials said the direct regular rail service will bring more tourists to the site. The Railway Ministry has built Kevadia railway station near the Statue of Unity, which will also be inaugurated by the PM on Sunday. Sources said PM Modi will inaugurate the Dabhoi-Chandod-Kevadia broad gauge rail line and the Pratapnagar-Kevadia newly electrified section on Sunday. Pratapnagar falls in Vadodara district and a regular MEMU service will start in this section. “The main focus of all this connectivity is to attract both local and outside tourists. The government has set the target to make it one of the most attractive tourist hubs,” said an official. Recently, the government had launched a seaplane service from the Statue of Unity in Narmada district to Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad to mark the 145th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. In November, the government had held a two-day all India speakers’ conference in Kevadia. In 2019, the centres’ first-ever common foundation course Aarambh (Beginning) for 2019 batch probationer civil servants was also held at the Statue of Unity, which was attended by 500 bureaucrats.

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Kenya invites Indians for a unique holiday in 2021

Kenya is welcoming Indian tourists to sample unique Kenyan tourism products in 2021. The country is banking on India to boost its international tourism numbers, this year. Official statistics from the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife indicate that Kenya registered a total of 122,649 travellers from the Indian market in 2019. In 2020, statistics for the period between January to October, the total number of tourist arrivals into Kenya from India was 25,251. The decline is attributed to the travel restrictions imposed by both Kenya and India as part of the measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. As travel picks up in 2021, Kenya is looking at the Indian market as a key source to revive tourism. According to the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO, Betty Radier, “Kenya is blessed with many tourism offerings that excite travelers from across the globe. The Indian market is one that has continued to uptake our tourism offerings for many years. Kenya and India continue to have cordial relations especially because both countries are bound by both history and culture. It is certainly not by mistake that India has been one of our key source markets.”

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Kerala to spend INR 100 cr on post-Covid Destination Marketing

Kerala will be spending INR 100 cr for destination marketing and promotions to regain the lost ground in tourism due to the pandemic. This is the highest-ever allocation for destination promotion by the state. “More attention has to be paid to rebrand and propagate our tourism projects during the post-Covid period,” said Isaac presenting the state Budget for 2021-22 in the Kerala Assembly today. The Economic Review Report released by the Finance Minister yesterday had put the total revenue loss from the tourism sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic as INR 25,000 cr. One of the major announcements of the State Budget presented by the Finance Minister is the proposal to set up a Kerala Tourism Workers Welfare Fund Board for the welfare of the workers in the tourism sector. Read more: Clamour for Tourism Employees' Welfare Board picks up momentum in Kerala The Finance Minister expects the travel and tourism sector to return to normalcy by 2021-22. He said that the government has provided a stimulus package to the industry including the loan interest subvention scheme and other one-time financial aid to the stressed tourism sector. He said that an additional INR 25 cr for destination marketing will be sanctioned for the tourism sector in the current financial year. Among the infrastructure projects, the Finance Minister said that the priority will be given to Heritage Tourism projects. He proposed the extension of the heritage projects to cities of Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode along with Muziris, Alappuzha and Thalassery. The budget has proposed an allocation of INR 40 cr for the heritage projects. An additional amount of INR 10 cr has been earmarked for Thiruvananthapuram Heritage Project. Another major announcement in the budget is the proposal to revive the train service in Munnar. He said that The TATA Group has already agreed to spare land for restoration of the train service. The budget proposes to spend INR 117 cr for Infrastructure development at existing destinations. There is an allocation of INR 25 cr for renovation of tourism guest houses in Kerala.

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U’khand tourism dept to hold national winter games in Auli

The Uttarakhand tourism department will organise national winter games in Auli, said secretary (tourism) Dilip Jawalkar on Wednesday. The official also maintained that the state will organise an international Yoga festival in Rishikesh, like the past several years, with Covid-19 regulations in place. While addressing a meeting of the officials of Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB), Jawalkar instructed the officials to ensure proper arrangements of electricity, water supply, medical, security, and equipment which would be used during the event. He also said that the review of the Auli Walkway, Ropeway, Chairlift, and Skylift should also be done before the event. He further suggested that a Destination Development Committee should be formed, including the local people, Municipal Cooperation, Hotel Association members, and others for better work coordination. He also said that a Skii School should be set up in Auli for the people seeking skiing training in Uttarakhand. Ashish Chauhan, general secretary, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), said that the first phase work for Poma Skiing Lift was recently completed. The work of revamping the proposed chairlift in the second phase came to halt due to Covid-19 but it has restarted. “The repairing works of the Artificial Snow Making Operator System, Combined Pump, Dialog Cables, Compressor, Air Supply System, Mobile, and Static Gun, Snowmaking System were also completed recently,” added Chauhan. With regard to the preparation of the International Yoga Festival, Jawalkar said that astrology experts and foot massage counters should also be added.

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Arab and India to enhance cooperation to promote tourism

The third Senior Officials Meeting of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum took place via video conference recently, where they discussed ways and means to enhance cooperation in the framework of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum in the field of tourism and culture among other things. The Meeting was co-chaired by Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary (CPV&OIA) and Ambassador Mohamed Abu Al-Kheir, Assistant Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the League of Arab States. The Senior Officials hailed the strong foundation, great potential and wide-ranging prospect for Arab-India cooperation, and the role that the Forum can play to advance Arab-India relations towards capacious horizons. The Senior Officials discussed issues of mutual concern on both regional and international levels, emphasizing the importance of strengthening cooperation and coordination mechanisms between the two sides. They stressed that the exceptional circumstances and unprecedented challenges that the world faces due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic require the need to strengthen international and regional cooperation to confront the consequences of this pandemic, including in areas of conflict and crises. In that context, they discussed ongoing collaboration between India and the Arab States in the fields of diagnostics and treatment, and exchanged views on respective national approaches to post-Covid economic recovery. They agreed on the early scheduling of the joint activities of the Forum, including the 3rd Session of Arab-India Cultural Festival, the Symposium on Arab-India Cooperation in the field of Energy, the 1st Arab-India University Presidents Conference, the 2nd Symposium on Arab-India Cooperation in the field of Media, and the 6th Session of Arab-India Partnership Conference. They're also looking forward to holding the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum, in India.

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