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Around 89% Indians keen to resume holiday travel: survey

Around 89 percent of Indians suffering from lockdown fatigue due to COVID-19 are keen to resume their holiday travel, according to a survey released on Monday. The survey by India's leading travel company Thomas Cook comprised 2,700 respondents of which 52 percent preferred a domestic holiday within the country while the remaining 48 percent preferred an international holiday. Europe topped the list among favored destinations including Switzerland, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain followed by short-haul destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Maldives, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand and the United States as well, the survey said. Respondents continue to display an increasing focus on hygiene and safety with 93 percent of respondents highlighting this as the most important factor while deciding a holiday. Tourism has been the worst affected sector in India and the world, as hotels and airlines were shut for a considerable period along with Visa and travel restrictions during the current year. According to industry sources, India's hospitality and tourism sector suffered three quarters of economic demolition estimated at 203 billion U.S. dollars, and the industry is seeking government support to survive and recover from this black swan event in the forthcoming calendar year.

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Maha govt issues SOPs for passengers arriving from Europe, Middle East, and South Africa

The sudden emergence of a fast-spreading variant of COVID-19 in UK believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain is a cause of concern. It has been reported that a distinct Phylogenetic cluster of SARsCov-2 (named lineage B.1.1.7) has been detected. In view of this, the government of Maharashtra has formulated following standard operating protocol (SOP) which will come into effect immediately. 1. This SOP shall apply for Passengers and flight/ airline staff -flights arriving from Europe, Middle-East Countries and South Africa and arriving in Maharashtra. 2. All the Airports and Seaports should be alerted to the possible threat of the spread of a new strain of coronavirus. 3. An area at the far end of the airport terminal should be identified and prepared for receiving these flights. 4. The area should be large enough to receive daily flights coming from areas of concern. 5. The designated area should have adequate air-bridges, so as to receive the flights in a staggered manner to avoid overcrowding. 6. The designated area should have adequate separate, immigration, luggage, and custom centers for managing these flight passengers. 7. There should be a separate set up of APHO for screening and testing of these passengers and staff. 8. The staff of the aircraft should be kept in an isolated area following the necessary preventive measures. They should not be allowed to enter the terminal. 9. The ground level airport staff coming in contact with them should be minimal and follow all the personal protective measures and all sanitary measures. 10. The ground level staff working in the designated area, at which the above-mentioned lights land, should put on PPE throughout their duty. 11. The disinfection of the area should be strictly monitored. 12. Preventive measures at all the airport terminals should be further strengthened. Regular monitoring of the process and feedback is very important till the presence of the threat of new strain of Coronavirus. 13. The airport airline staff should ensure that the passengers disembarking from the above-mentioned lights are wearing properly fitted masks, have sanitized the visible part of their hands thoroughly. In case any passenger is not wearing a mask, it should be provided to them. 14. It should be strictly ensured that at all times, the staff and the passengers follow respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene and social distancing 15. The flow of passengers in the airport premises should be such that they should not in any way (not even by mistake) get mixed with the passengers coming from other flights or other staff. 16. The immigration of the passengers should be done in that defined restricted area only. 17. The passengers will be taken by this specially assigned staff to a separate screening center set up by the APHO (which is within the defined restricted area). In this center, relevant information will be taken from the passengers in a more detailed format. 18. All passengers will be screened for the presence of symptoms and if found symptomatic shall be subjected to RT-PCR sample testing with all the necessary precautions. These symptomatic passengers shall be sent to identified hospital in the city and get admitted and should be treated accordingly. 19. All other passengers shall undergo 14 days of mandatory paid Institutional Quarantine at arrival city. These passengers shall NOT BE ALLOWED outside the designated quarantine facility before 14 days, in any condition. 20. Municipal Commissioner of the city where the Airport is located shall identify different category hotels as Institutional Quarantine facility and shall also earmark a dedicated health care facility for identifñied suspects. He shall also appoint a Nodal Officer to see the implementation of these SOPs. 21. All passengers should complete 14 days of Quarantine and should be RTPCR negative before discharge. Guidelines to be followed during transportation of the passengers from these flights 1) The passengers will be transported along with their luggage to the designated hotel for institutional quarantine. Paid transport shall be arranged by the Nodal Officer with the help of RTO. 2) Dedicated Transportation arrangement for these passengers should be made with the availability of transportation vehicles and trained staff. Guidelines to be followed at the place of stay: 1. The quarantine facilities where these passengers will stay should strictly follow all the guidelines so that there should not be any mingling of the passengers within the facility. 2. The passengers shall be monitored daily for development of any symptoms through Aarogya Setu App or by the health team. 3. In case any passenger develops symptoms of COVID-19, he/she should be shifted to a specially designated hospital for treating the new strain virus. 4. Also, if any passenger tests positive on RT-PCR, he/she should be considered to be infected with the new strain and should be immediately shifted to the designated hospital for further management The Nodal officer shall be overall Incharge of implementation of SOPs and responsible for coordination with Airport Authorities, Health Authorities, Hotel, Transport Authorities for smooth implementation of Guidelines.

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Plans underway to revive domestic tourism in Telangana, says Tourism Minister Srinivas Goud

Tourism has been one of the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though the lockdown has been relaxed, there is still a slump in the number of tourists visiting other States due to fear of contracting Covid-19. However, experts claim that this might turn into an opportunity for Telangana to enhance its domestic tourism. “Telangana has a lot to offer. From beautiful tribal circuits, heritage tourists spots and pilgrimages to eco-tourism, one can find many locations in the State offering all these, that too in abundance,” said Minister for Tourism V Srinivas Goud during a virtual conference on ‘Sustainable & Safe Tourism’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Sunday. Calling Telangana a hotbed of culture and a home to great natural and scenic locations, CII Telangana Chairman Krishna Bodanapu said that the State had all the ingredients to lead in the tourism sector. “All these assets can help in the revival of tourism in the State. It is up to the industry to open up and utilise the opportunities,” he said. CII Telangana Culture & Tourism Panel Convenor Anindita Sinha said that the tourism sector had been an important growth engine and job creator for the world economy. “While things are opening up slowly, there is a huge gap left by the drastic reduction in the arrival of foreign tourists, which has created a great opportunity for domestic tourism,” she added. Stating that the government is all ready to make tourism in the State a success, the Minister added, “The government is now adopting a multi-pronged strategy, covering diverse aspects and locations, to develop tourism. Right from pilgrimages to urban forest parks, all sectors are being developed with a focus on providing good amenities to tourists. The portal TS-iPass is also set to bring a major boost to the hospitality and tourism industry.”

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Taj Mahal may soon see 10,000 visitors in a day

The year 2021 could prove beneficial for the tourism industry of Agra, as the limits placed on the entry of tourists in the Taj Mahal and other centrally conserved monuments, and the restrictions on buying tickets from counters have finally been lifted. This decision came in accordance with the demands raised by the local tourism industry that the limit of just 5,000 tourists visiting the Taj Mahal was "unrealistic", considering the huge number of tourists coming to the monument every day. According to the new guideline following the coronavirus outbreak, a maximum of 5,000 tourists could enter the monument every day. Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber president Prahalad Agarwal told India Today that the chamber and other tourism organisations of Agra had been continually raising this demand, at every possible forum, and the government had finally heard the plea. In a revision to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued earlier, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has issued a fresh order on Saturday (December 18), in which the limits on tourists entering the monuments have been lifted at the central level. However, the final decision on the exact number of tourists to be allowed inside the monuments has been left to the corresponding superintending archaeologists and district magistrates of the city concerned. The ASI sources said that in Agra, the limit of tourists entering the monument will most likely be revised to 10,000 per day after talks with the district administration. Agra district magistrate Prabhu N Singh said that he had personally recommended increasing of the maximum number of tourists allowed to visit the Taj Mahal to the ASI, as the number of tourists coming to the city to visit the Taj Mahal has been increasing every day, and a lot of people often return without seeing the Taj Mahal. Amir, a Spanish interpreter from Agra, said that the weekends are the most crucial time when tourists struggle to get tickets to visit the Taj Mahal. On Monday, a movie by film star Akshay Kumar will be shot inside the Taj Mahal, so the shooting unit has purchased all the 5,000 tickets, and no tourists will be allowed inside the monument. Approved Guide Association president Shamshuddin said that the revised limit will be a "gift to the tourists" on Christmas and New Year, although the limit up to 10,000 visitors will not be enough during the New Year celebrations. The administration should think about raising this limit, at least for the New Year, he said.

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Nepal to issue licenses for mountaineering guides for 1st time

In a first, the Nepal government has decided to issue licenses for mountaineering guides to climb the Himalayan mountains. To date, based on the recommendation of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, an institution comprising several stakeholders in the mountaineering sector, the government had allowed the guides to travel with the mountaineers. "We are issuing the licenses to the mountaineering guides for the first time. The licensed guides will be responsible for helping the mountaineers to climb the country's mountains," Meera Acharya, undersecretary at the Department of Tourism, which issues mountaineering permits, told Xinhua. She said that a notice will be issued regarding the criteria to obtain a license in the next few days. "The policy will be implemented right after the notice is issued," she said. According to Ang Tshering Sherpa, former President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, there are over 8,000 mountaineering guides in the country. After receiving names of potential mountaineering guides from expedition agencies, the association recommends the names to the Nepali government for approval to work as guides for expeditions. Most of the mountaineering guides are from Nepal's Sherpa community, which is world-famous for mountain climbing. Mingma Sherpa, the chairperson of Seven Summit Treks, one of the leading mountaineering expedition companies in Nepal, said that the government needs to issue different categories of licenses based on the experiences and expertise of the climbing guides. "Issuing the same licenses to all the mountaineering guides would not be practical as a guide who has climbed Mt. Everest several times and one who has not climbed any tall mountains, could not be compared," he said. According to Nepal's Department of Tourism, it issued permits to 2,166 climbers to summit mountains in in 2019, and 985 had succeeded in climbing them successfully.

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IndiGo partners with UrbanDrive to offer hassle-free ride on road

In line with its vision to provide hassle-free services to its customers, IndiGo has partnered with Eco Rent A cars tech powered platform- UrbanDrive to provide car rental services to its customers. Through this collaboration, IndiGo customers will be able to book a chauffer- driven cab services across 60 cities which are serving 42 airports on IndiGo domestic network; with options of hourly, intercity and airport transfer packages. Commenting on this, Sanjay Kumar, Chief strategy & Revenue officer, IndiGo, said, "At IndiGo we are always on a look out for options to offer seamless customer service. Our partnership with UrbanDrive will enable one-stop shop experience for our customers, who will be able to book their journey from doorstep to doorstep, by adding first and last mile connectivity through chauffeur driven cabs." Rajesh Loomba, MD, UrbanDrive, said, "At UrbanDrive, we aim to provide safe, seamless and reliable modes of transport to urban traveller, be it with chauffeur or on self drive to complement their fast-paced lifestyles. We are pleased to collaborate with IndiGo." As part of the offer UrbanDrive has created a special cobranded website which will enable IndiGo passengers to book safe and hygienic chauffeur driven cabs across India initially and will soon add self-drive options along with 24 international destinations.

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