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Three road trip circuits to come up between Odisha and Kolkata

Odisha Tourism has launched three tourism circuits that can be explored by road from Kolkata. A virtual roadshow was organised by the Odisha Tourism to promote Odisha by Road campaign, in which these circuits were also announced. The first road circuit will be Deep into the Mangroves, which will traverse from Kolkata to Bhitarkanika via Bichitrapur Sanctuary and Chandipur. On this route, you will cover primary destinations such as Chandipur Beach, Bichitrapur Mangrove Sanctuary, Aul Palace, Talasari Beach, and Bhitarkanika National Park. Reportedly, the second road trip circuit will be called The Trail of Cascades-Keonjhar, which will be from Kolkata to Keonjhar. On this route, you will cover destinations including as Bhimkund Waterfalls, Terracotta craft village at Ghatagaon, Sitabinji Caves’ fresco paintings, Gundichaghai Waterfalls, Kanjipani Ghati, Badaghagara and Sanaghagara Waterfalls. The third road trip circuit will be called Tiger trails and Royalty, which will be from Kolkata to Simlipal, and will cover places, such as Similipal Tiger Reserve, Belgadia Palace, Barehipani and the Nawana Valley, Sitakund Waterfall & Ecotourism Zone. While addressing the roadshow, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Minister of Tourism, Government of Odisha said that Odisha Tourism is making all the efforts to revive tourism amid the global pandemic. He added that this will provide an opportunity to reach out to the tour operators from West Bengal, as Odisha receives around 14 percent of its tourists from West Bengal. He further stated that the relation between the two states is like two sides of the same coin, with similarities in culture and cuisine, and that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint promotion of tourism between the states will likely enhance the movement of tourists between the states. Eco Retreat—a luxury glamping retreat, has also been launched at Konark, Hirakud, Bhitarkanika, Daringbadi, and Satkosia to promote tourist destinations in the state. Odisha will also be hosting festivals and fairs till March 2021, which will include the Mukteshwar Dance festival, Konark festival, National Chilika Bird Festival, International Sand Art festival, Rajarani music festival, and Vrindaban Mahotsav.

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Goa’s Aguada Jail to become a tourist hotspot post renovation in March 2021

Goa is all set to have another tourist attraction at Aguada by March 2021. Reportedly, Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, has announced that the renovation of historic Aguada jail will be finished by March. Post completion, the jail that does not keep any prisoners now will be opened for visitors as an important tourist spot. CM Sawant informed the press of the same after a review meeting on the refurbishment of the centuries-old jail, and only 10 per cent of the work remains to be done. Aguada jail will also have a museum, showing the freedom struggle of Goa against the Portuguese rule. It is a part of the Aguada Fort in Sinquerim village near River Mandovi in North Goa. The renovated jail structure will greatly focus on two special cells, where freedom fighters Ram Manohar and TB Cunha were jailed during their struggle against the Portuguese. A senior official of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) told a leading daily that the Aguada Fort is being renovated under the central government’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme at a cost of INR 22 crore. The jail at the fort was being used till 2015 after which it was decategorised as a jail. Then after, the GTDC took over the charge of the jail for renovation.

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SpiceJet Launches 21 New Domestic And International Flights

Leading low-cost airline SpiceJet has announced the launch of 21 new domestic and international flights. These include four new flights connecting Jharsuguda in Odisha besides a host of new flights reiterating the airline’s commitment of enhancing connectivity between metro and non-metro cities. The new flights will commence operations in a phased manner effective 12th January, 2021. After connecting Delhi with Ras Al-Khaimah, the airline will now introduce two weekly flights from Mumbai to Ras Al-Khaimah which will be effective from 15th January, 2021. It will also increase frequency on the Delhi-Ras Al-Khaimah sector to four flights a week. SpiceJet will be the first and only airline to connect Jharsuguda with direct flights to Mumbai and Bengaluru. Besides, the airline will now operate a Boeing 737 on the Delhi-Jharsuguda route instead of a Bombardier Q400 thereby offering additional capacity. SpiceJet also connects Jharsuguda with Hyderabad and Kolkata. In its bid to enhance connectivity between the metros and key non-metro cities, the airline has also launched new daily non-stop flights connecting Hyderabad with Vishakhapatnam, Tirupati and Vijayawada. The airline has also launched new flights on the Bengaluru-Belagavi-Bengaluru and Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai sectors. The airline will also launch new flights on Kolkata-Kochi and Kochi-Delhi sectors. Additionally, the airline has augmented its operations by upgrading frequency to daily on the Delhi-Jalandhar-Delhi sector and will add a third frequency on the Delhi-Dharamshala-Delhi sector. The airline will deploy a mix of its Boeing 737 and Bombardier Q400 aircraft on these routes. Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet said, “Providing air connectivity to the smaller towns and cities of India has always been a top priority for SpiceJet. We are pleased to announce the launch of 21 new flights which will offer additional flying options and travel flexibility at affordable prices. We see immense potential in these routes that will help cater to the increased demand from leisure as well as business travelers besides enhancing connectivity between metros and non-metros.” “SpiceJet has been relentlessly working towards enhancing air connectivity for Jharsuguda in Odisha and we are extremely pleased to announce a host of new flights connecting the city to the key metros of Mumbai and Bengaluru.” While the airline will operate a daily direct flight on all the newly launched routes, it will operate four flights a week – Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday on the routes of Mumbai-Jharsuguda-Mumbai and Bengaluru-Jharsuguda-Bengaluru. Hyderabad- Vijayawada-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Tirupati-Hyderabad will operate six days a week. SpiceJet is celebrating the launch of new flights with all-inclusive one-way fares starting as low as INR 2455 on Bengaluru-Belagavi, INR 2251 on Belagavi-Bengaluru, INR 3443 on Mumbai-Porbandar, INR 3335 on Porbandar-Mumbai, INR 3954 on Delhi-Kolkata, INR 3145 on Hyderabad-Vishakhapatnam, INR 3174 on Vishakhapatnam-Hyderabad, INR 2621 on Hyderabad-Tirupati, INR 2407 on Tirupati-Hyderabad, INR 2621 on Hyderabad-Vijayawada, INR 2407 on Vijayawada-Hyderabad, INR 5600 on Kolkata-Kochi, INR 6046 on Kochi-Delhi, INR 4247 on Mumbai-Jharsuguda, INR 4320 on Jharsuguda–Bengaluru, INR 4470 on Bengaluru-Jharsuguda and INR 4139 on Jharsuguda-Mumbai. The airline has also announced promotional fares starting as low as INR 4193 on both the legs of Delhi-Jharsuguda-Delhi route where the airline has augmented seating capacity by upgrading the aircraft type to Boeing 737.

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Mauritius Tourism to push Premium Travel Visa in India market

Mauritius Tourism is keen to push the simplified Premium Travel Visa scheme which has been introduced for international travellers who wish to stay longer in a Covid-free environment. Mauritius rolled out the new Premium Visa last November with citizens from 38 countries availing the Premium Visa. Presenting the Premium Travel Visa services at a webinar hosted by Mauritius Tourism in India, Seewraj Nundlall, Head of Economic Development Board of Mauritius, said that the Premium Visa is offered to travellers who want to stay longer in the country. The visa validity is for one year and renewable, he said. He said that the visa is targeted at tourists who want to stay longer, digital nomads, professionals who want to work remotely, families and retirees. “We have seen a strong strong interest for Premium Visas since we rolled out in November,” Nundlall said. He said that in terms of number of applications, South Africa, USA, UK and India leads the pack. “Majority of the applications were approved,” he said, saying that the online process is simple and the visas are issued within 48 hours of applying online. As per the government figures, 6% of the total applicants are from India for the Premium Visa.

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Faroe Islands become home to world's first undersea traffic circle

The bottom surface of North Atlantic Ocean has a series of sub-aquatic tunnels, linking the uneven islands that feature the Faroe Islands archipelago. According to the latest reports, the newly built undersea Eysturoy tunnel has got noted for its striking new underwater traffic circle which is well-lit, turquoise-blue colour and other-worldly design make this tunnel look unique. Linking the island of Streymoy to the island of Eysturoy and located 187 meters under the sea. Reportedly, the 11-kilometer-long tunnel has been made to shorten the travel time from Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroes located on the isle Streymoy, to the centres of Runavík and Strendur situated on the isle of Eysturoy, to only 16 minutes. The star attraction of the tunnel network is the illuminated traffic circle local artist Trondur Patursson. Made of natural rock, the traffic circle is situated at the centre of the tunnel network. The colours of the traffic circle change from green, blue and yellow with a dazzling effect. As reported by international news daily, Teitur Samuelsen, the CEO of the company in charge of making the tunnels, the illuminated traffic circle symbolizes shifting from darkness towards light and also reminds the traditional Faroese chain dance, which involves people holding hands to form human chain. Both the ideas signify that the tunnel network is a symbol of connecting people. It is said that the traffic circle is one-of-its-kind under the North Atlantic Ocean.

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Odisha is all set to host National Chilika Bird Festival from January 8

Odisha is all set to host the 3rd National Chilika Bird Festival from January 8 to January 10. The three-day festival will celebrate around 10 lakh birds that visit this spot during the winters. Referring to this, Odisha Tourism tweeted, “Don’t miss birding at the protected bird sanctuary Nalabana #Chilika. The only time of the year you can visit Nalabana is during the festival,” while requesting people to register for the bird festival. As per the Odisha Tourism, in the North Eastern Part of Chilika, Mangalajodi is known as the Birds Paradise of Asia, and that is because of a primary reason, i.e., lakhs of migratory visitors from all over the world throng this spot during winters. It is also a photographer’s paradise as birds can be seen up close during this time. This place also serves as a major stopover for migratory birds from the sub-arctic and arctic regions during their return and onward migration along the east coast. Since it is a major congregation site for migratory birds, it has been recognized as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention. Further, since Mangalajodi freshwater wetland and Nalabana Island form part of the Chilika lake, they have been identified as Important Bird Areas (IBA). If you are lucky, you will not only spot nesting colonies of variety colourful birds, but might even get to witness exotic birds like Godwits, Sandpipers, Terns, Gulls, Plovers, rare Grey-headed Lapwings, Ruddy turnstone, Pintails, Shulkers, Ruddy Shelducks, Baillon’s Crakes, Greater Painted Snipes, and slaty-breasted Rails.

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