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Air India updates waiver policy for domestic and international flights

Air India Latest News: All Air India tickets irrespective of their date of purchase will be considered valid till December 31, 2021, Air India has announced in its new waiver policy. This is irrespective of their current validity and ticket type i.e. the Value of the ticket will be fully protected. Passengers holding Air India Documents (098) and have/had their flights cancelled or were not allowed to travel on the flight, owing to changed entry restrictions due to COVID-19 from 15 March 20 onwards till 24 Aug 2020 can avail this option. Also, the booking must be done before 31st December 2021 and the journey to be completed latest by 31st December 2021. The airline will also allow one free change. Flyers can change the date/flight/route) without paying any extra money. For date and flight change, no Change fee will be collected irrespective of booking code in the same cabin — for travel till August 24. After August 24, however, if the same RBD (reservation booking designator) is available on the same route but the fare is higher, the fare difference will be waived. Applicable fare difference will be charged in case of fare in other RBD (other than lower or same RBD) is higher. Passenger desiring a change in the routing of the ticket will be allowed to adjust the value of the existing ticket against the new fare. Ticket will have to be reissued along with the difference of fare, if applicable. No re-issuance charges will be levied for such cases. However, no differential fare refund will be permitted in case new ticket fare is lower than the existing ticket fare, it said.

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Indian Railways adopts single-window system for vendors' approval

The Indian Railways has adopted a single-window system for approval of vendors for procurements. As per the new policy a vendor, approved for an item by any of the vendor approving agency shall be considered an approved vendor by all railway units for that particular item. As part of the endeavour to enhance "transparency, efficiency" and ease of doing business, the railways had taken the step to ease the procurement system, the Indian Railways said in a statement. As per the extant norms, the railways procure items from vendors approved by its nominated vendor approving agencies. Previously vendor approved at one establishment was not automatically eligible to be considered for procurement at other establishments and they had to apply for approval at multiple establishments to get considered. The Ministry said, this decision will impact vendors favorably as it will save time and do away the need of approaching multiple vendor approving agencies. This will also promote better utilization of manufacturing capacity of Industry in the country.

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Uttarakhand government to draft action plan to revive tourism sector hit by COVID-19 pandemic

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government will soon be drafting an action plan for the tourism sector, which has been adversely-hit due to the three-month long coronavirus lockdown. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has instructed officials to prepare the action plan for tourism throughout the year. "We need to boost our tourism sector so that it can function around the year instead of holiday season. Tourism is our backbone which needs to be strengthened," Rawat said. He also gave instructions during a video conference on Saturday with Ashwini Lohani, advisor to the Chardham Devasthanam Board and Subhash Goyal, general secretary of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH). Earlier, this year, in an attempt to boost tourism, Uttarakhand government had proposed to develop and turn bandoned school buildings on the Char Dham Yatra and trekking routes, into homestay facilities. Plans are being laid out to equip the roofs of these buildings with solar panels. The department will also be providing a total of 662 computers, two each at 331 schools of the state government on Char Dham route. However, the Char Dham Yatra has been suspended till June 30 for everyone except locals due to pandemic.

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Rs 46cr Basilica beautification to start in 4 months: Sawant

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that the state government has set a target of around four months to start Rs46 crore development and beautification of ‘Basilica of Bom Jesus’ under the pilgrimage rejuvenation and spiritual augmentation drive (PRASAD) scheme. After Sawant met with tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar and other government officials, he told reporters, “The state government will develop and take up beautification work at Basilica of Bom Jesus under the tourism circuit. The detailed project report was submitted to the Union government under the PRASAD scheme.” Sawant said that during the meeting he instructed all departments and the office of the archbishop to give no objection certificate (NOC) to the tourism department so that they can take up work. “Once the detailed project report is sanctioned, within a short span of time we should start the work,” he said. Ajgaonkar said, “The in-principle approval for the project has been received from Union government. We are waiting for the final approval and want to take all into confidence on the project.” The tourism minister also said that the department wants to have facilities of an international level at Old Goa. “We have planned in such a way, that maximum tourists visit the place,” Ajgaonkar said, adding that due to the current coronavirus pandemic, the state is facing a financial crunch and the government has “to take maximum benefits for tourism development under central government schemes”. The central government’s scheme covers development of facilities including beautification, public conveniences, security and surveillance systems, illumination, etc. at the site. The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) sub-committee had nominated the ‘Basilica of Bom Jesus’ under the PRASAD scheme of the Union ministry of tourism. A parking facility, as well as a tourism-information plus interpretation centre has been proposed. An official said that under the project, illumination of the entire area, including street lights, will be covered. Other provisions such as drinking water facilities, signages and public conveniences will also be set-up. A traffic plan will also be executed. The proposed facilities which may come up in regulated areas will be carried out in compliance with heritage by-laws and development control regulations.

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Staged Reopening of Bali Tourism Announced

The Governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, has announced the planned stages to reopen tourism on the Island of the Gods. The three stages are designed to reintroduce tourism to Bali, with definite dates dependant on the situation and dynamics of COVID-19 developments in Bali. The first stage begins on 9th July, with tourism being opened specifically for the movement of local people in Bali and working in certain sectors, except for education and tourism. The second stage will be to open for domestic tourists in August 2020, and the final stage will be in September 2020, when the island aims to welcome international tourists again. So whether or not this is carried out will greatly depend on the situation and dynamics of COVID-19, especially the local transmission in Bali,” Koster said. Koster added that Bali is applying precautionary principles relating to the opening of tourism because presently, Bali is focussed on effective handling of COVID-19. Moreover, the current trend of local transmission cases is on the rise and without caution, it’ feared that a second wave could occur, which will be more difficult to handle. Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Wisnhutama Kusubandio said that if phase one of the new normal implementation in Bali, the opening up of various sectors, can run smoothly, then the second stage of opening the tourism sector can be done.

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Turkey introduces "safe tourism" concept amid COVID-19 pandemic

Istanbul, June 20 (IANS) The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry launched a two-day program to introduce the country''s "safe tourism" concept to ambassadors to Turkey in the Mediterranean province of Antalya during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 40 ambassadors and numerous foreign journalists would experience the measures implemented at the tourism facilities in the region against coronavirus, the ministry said in a statement on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported. Turkish officials would present the Safe Tourism Certification Program, which defines an extensive series of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safety of tourists both in accommodation and transportation. The facilities in the region made arrangements to ensure the social distancing rule and hygiene at a maximum level in line with the new rules stated in the certification program. During their stay in Antalya, ambassadors and journalists would have the chance to monitor every step of the precautions in planes, airports, hotels, beaches, pools, and other tourist attractions. Antalya is among Turkey''s most popular tourism leisure destinations for both local and foreign travellers, offering sea, sun and sand, as well as many cultural tourism activities. On June 1, Turkey eased its restrictions against COVID-19, allowing restaurants, cafes, parks, beaches, sports facilities including swimming pools, and museums to resume their operations.

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