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India replaces China as the Maldives’ top source market amid pandemic

A resurgence of Covid-19 has not thwarted the travel plans of India’s super-rich, who are escaping the pandemic-ravaged region by flocking to the Maldives, with India emerging as the island country’s biggest source market last year. Last year, 62,905 Indian tourists holidayed in the Maldives, accounting for 11.3 per cent of the total market share, according to the Indian High Commission in Male. In second place was Russia, followed by the UK. For many years, China has been the mainstay of the Maldives’ tourism economy, but Chinese visitorship dropped sharply in 2020 as China put in place outbound travel restrictions to stem the Covid spread. Incoming travellers from India to the Maldives largely comprise Bollywood celebrities and luxury jet-setters opting for stays at high-end resorts. Five Indian cities have flights to the country’s capital city of Male, with five airlines operating there, under the air travel bubble established between the two countries, according to a Times of India report. As one of the few countries which remains open to foreign tourists amid the pandemic, the Maldives has seen a steady climb in international arrivals since its reopening last July after a four-month closure. The island nation initially reopened with no testing or quarantine mandates, but changed tack in September to require all incoming travellers to present negative Covid-19 test results and complete an online health declaration form. Even as countries worldwide battle a virus resurgence, the Maldives recorded 96,411 tourist arrivals in December 2020 – a drop from the 171,348 recorded in the same period in 2019, but still a creditable showing in the midst of the pandemic, according to industry officials. December’s figures were more than double that of November arrivals of 35,200. In fact, the surge in tourist arrivals caught some Maldivian resorts and guesthouses unprepared. “The industry didn’t anticipate such a rush and some resorts reported a shortage of some consumables including liquor and some choice wines,” said the head of a destination marketing company. “There was no stockpiling of goods as resorts didn’t want to overstock, not expecting such a rush.” The country recorded a total of 555,399 arrivals in 2020, lower than the 1.7 million in 2019, but much higher than the targeted 500,000 for the year. For 2021, the authorities are targeting 1.5 million arrivals. “Despite the pandemic, Maldives tourism has done well. We expected a good last quarter for tourism, but the results were beyond expectations in December,” noted Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation managing director Thoyyib Mohamed. According to the former president of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Abdulla Ghiyas, resorts ran at almost full occupancy at 60-70 per cent, given than a portion (ranging from 10 to 20 per cent) of the room inventory has to remain closed and kept for health and Covid-19 emergencies. “Some resorts have allocated a higher portion for health use,” he said, adding that while December was a good month for the country’s tourism, January is also turning out to be positive with 20,000 arrivals in the first week alone. The Maldives has reported 14,040 Covid-19 cases and 48 deaths, with most of the cases confined to Male, isolated from resort islands, where a few cases have been recorded.

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Soaring High: India records highest number of passengers on flights since May

India touched a new milestone on January 10, as it recorded the highest number of passengers onboard flights since they resumed domestic flights in May. According to Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri, this number touched 2,73,845 passengers on 2,179 flights. "This takes us even closer to the Pre-COVID numbers. Flying has emerged as the chosen mode of transport which offers efficiency, safety & predictability," he said in a tweet. Previously, rating agency ICRA had said that relaxation in aircraft capacity deployment coupled with festive season air travel demand helped recovery in the domestic traffic with passenger volume. In fact, in November 2020, ICRA had also said that the domestic passenger traffic was close to 50 percent of the domestic air travel demand in November 2019. The government is also expected to increase the focus on tourism development in India and undertake measures to boost tourism. Focussed efforts to preserve India’s heritage cities, improve visitor experience, and upgrade sanitation and supporting infrastructure would help drive tourism. As for what's in store for the budget, it is likely that it will look into the prioritisation of Air India which has been facing roadblocks over the last several months, according to Kinjal Shah, Vice President, ICRA.

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Pilgrimage Tourism Is Back On Track: Bharat Darshan Initiatives Generate Overwhelming Response

With the economic activities picking up, pilgrimage tourism seems to be back on track as Indian Railways received an overwhelming response to its Bharat Darshan initiatives amid the Covid-19 crisis. The Bharat Darshan trains with special focus on jyotirlinga shrines offering destinations such as Omkareshwsr, Ujjain, Vadodara, Somnath, Dwarka, Nageswara and Ahmedabad from Varanasi and Jalandhar have shown good response since launching of the package, said a senior Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) official involved with the tourism project. IRCTC, ticketing and catering arm of Indian Railways, is also responsible for running tourist trains across the country. The tour will cover the four jyotirlingas at Omkareshwar, Mahakaleshwar, Somnath and Nageshwar besides the Statue of Unity. IRCTC has made arrangements for accommodation and transportation in buses for passengers. Pilgrimage constitutes an important component of tourism in India and has contributed effectively to the growth and development of the place. "We are operating Bharat Darshan trains since the year 2005 with different itineraries based on market demand, popularity and operational feasibility. We had restricted the activities for some time due to the coronavirus. However, since more and more people are opting for train journey now, we decided to launch the Bharat Darshan trains this year," said the official. While the pilgrimage tourist train from Varanasi is beginning its nine-day journey on 10 January, the special tourist train from Jalandhar would start from 27 January for an eight-day trip. Bookings for both the trains are almost full now, said the official. Though every year around 7 million pilgrims visit the shrines in India, it was a major setback in 2020 as it was a difficult year. IRCTC has also offered a third tourist train from Gorakhpur from 28 January to south India covering Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Madurai and Kanchipuram. There are already 355 passengers booked and it is open for further bookings, said the official. Pilgrimage tourism has emerged as an instrument for employment generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable human development which are influencing the socio-economic environment of the region. IRCTC aims to promote domestic tourism in India under the flagship scheme ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ in the New Year 2021 and has also announced the launch of various air tour packages. These fixed departure tours have been strategically planned for a very short duration in the next three months considering the long weekends and holiday combinations for service class employees and general public. In 2019-20, IRCTC had operated a total number of 83 tour packages to various destinations from Delhi for Shirdi, Tirupati, Ladhakh, Andaman, Kerala and Hyderabad.

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Kumbh Mela 2021: These 4 trains will resume operations from Monday for Kumbh | Details inside

The Indian Railways was forced to close its services for the general public from March 25 last year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Though the services were partially resumed, most of the trains remained suspended to check the spread of the deadly COVID-19 infection. However, with the beginning of Kumbh Mela 2021 in Haridwar from January 14, the Indian Railways have decided to resume several of its trains to make travel easy for the commuters. From Monday, four such trains, including the Jan Shatabdi Express, will resume their services. Providing more information, Pradeep Gilhotra, a senior Indian Railways official, told Dainik Jagran that the Jan Shatabdi Express, Dehra-Brandra Express, Bikaner-Haridwar Express and the Amritsar-Haridwar Express will resume their services from Monday to make travel easy for commuters ahead of Kumbh. The Indian Railways had earlier said that it will resume 18 trains that were suspended last year for travellers of the 48-day Maha Kumbh Mela that will be held in Haridwar this year from January 14. Uttarakhand Roadways to start 40 new buses for Kumbh Mela In another development, Neeraj Saxena, a senior Uttarakhand Roadways Department official, told Dainik Jagran that nearly 40 buses will be run from Saharanpur to Haridwar from 13 January for Kumbh travellers. The Uttarakhand government is hoping to revive the tourism sector that has been hit hard by the coronavirus-induced lockdown with the help Maha Kumbh 2021. For this, the state government has taken several steps and has asked authorities and officials to take appropriate and necessary action. Recently, the Nainital High Court had also directed the Uttarakhand government to present the standing operating procedures (SOPs) by January 11 for Kumbh Mela to be held in Haridwar this year. Following are the important Ganga Snan dates for Kumbh Mela 2021: January 14, 2021- Makar Sakranti Snan February 11, 2021- Mauni Amavasya Snan February 16, 2021- Basant Panchami Snan February 27, 2021- Magh Poornima Snan March 11, 2021- Maha Shivratri Snan April 12, 2021- Somvati Amamvasya Snan April 14, 2021- Baisakhi Snan April 21, 2021- Ram Navami Snan April 27, 2021- Chaitra Purnima Snan

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Suriname president proposes 'visa-free travel' between India and Suriname

Suriname, a small yet beautiful country in South America, is ready to remove visa permits and promote ‘visa-free travel’ between India and Suriname. On January 8, President Chandrikapersad Santokhi said that their country is ready to take the first step to strengthen the bilateral bonds between the two nations. The President was speaking on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention organised by India on January 9. He said, “Suriname is prepared to take the first step in doing so by ending visa permits for visitors from India to Suriname.” Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention is organised every year by India to commemorate the day Mahatma Gandhi arrived in India. This year, the event was held virtually and on the occasion, Suriname’s Indian origin leader spoke at the external affairs ministry’s flagship event in Bhojpuri dialect. The president further said that the country diaspora is a crucial part of India’s soft power and that India too is an integral part of Suriname’s soft power. He said allowing free movement between the two countries will bring prosperity and add to various sectors including education and science. “The importance of the Indian diaspora can and must be one of the mutual benefits. If we approach the opportunities in this way, we can achieve great things for our countries. In this interconnected world we all live in, we value international relationships based on respect and mutual benefits.” About Suriname Suriname is a small country in South America dotted with Dutch colonial architecture and tropical rainforest. The capital of the country, Paramaribo, is a melting-pot of culture. Some of the prime places to visit in the country include a 17th-century trading post, Fort Zeelandia, 1885 built Saint Peter and Paul Basilica among others.

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Domestic flight services steadily moving towards pre-Covid numbers, says Puri

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday announced that the domestic aviation operations were steadily moving towards pre-Covid numbers. The flight services were hit hard in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic last year. Taking to Twitter, Puri also shared statistics about the number of people who took domestic flights to say that flying is the "preferred mode of travel". "Domestic aviation operations steadily move towards pre-Covid numbers. 2,59,851 passengers on 2,151 domestic flights on 9 Jan 2021 reiterate passenger confidence in flying as the preferred mode of travel. The day also saw total footfalls of 5,16,404 & 4,306 total flight movements," the civil aviation minister tweeted. All scheduled commercial flight operations were suspended in India on March 25 after the central government imposed a lockdown to contain the further spread of Covid-19. While domestic flights resumed operations from May 25 in a gradual manner, some special international flights have been operating within air bubbles arrangements with other countries since July. Meanwhile, the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday extended the suspension of all international flight operations in the country till 31 January, 2021. "Govt of India extends suspension of scheduled commercial international flights till 31 Jan, 2021," said the civil aviation regulator. However, the restrictions will not be applicable on international air cargo operations and flights specially approved by DGCA. Moreover, scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the pandemic. However, airlines have been permitted to operate special international flights under the Vande Bharat Mission since May this year and under the bilateral air bubble pacts since July. India has formed air bubble pacts with 24 countries currently.

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