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You can now travel to Bhutan; India’s travel bubble now extends to 15 countries

You can now travel to Bhutan and Kenya as India has signed travel bubble arrangements with these countries too. Air bubbles between India and Kenya, and India and Bhutan will now become operational, with national carriers of all the three nations restoring commercial passenger services to facilitate travel of people. Therefore, Indians will now be able to take special international passenger flights to and from these countries along with 13 other nations, with which such arrangements are already in place. Therefore, India now has air bubble arrangement with 15 countries. Until September 17, Bahrain, Afghanistan, France, Canada, Iraq, Germany, Japan, the Maldives, Qatar, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States were in the list. Further, under a bi-lateral air bubble pact, airlines of both the countries are allowed to operate international flights with certain restrictions. Elaborating more regarding such arrangements, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation described air bubbles as air travel arrangements or transport bubbles, which are temporary arrangements reached between two countries with the aim of restoring commercial passenger services between them when regular international flights are suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic. They are reciprocal in nature, meaning airlines from both countries enjoy similar benefits. Referring to Kenya and Bhutan, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted that in order to further boost bi-lateral international air connectivity, air bubble arrangements are now in place with Kenya and Bhutan. He alerted stranded Indians in these countries to take note.

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Hong Kong lifts bar, Air India to operate Delhi-Hong Kong flight on October 4

After being temporarily banned by the Hong Kong government in the second half of September, Air India will fly to Hong Kong from New Delhi on October 4. The Hong Kong government on September 20 barred Air India from flying as passengers aboard were found to be Covid-19 positive. A New Delhi-Hong Kong flight scheduled on September 21 was cancelled. The embargo on Air India flights is till October 3. Issuing a statement, Air India has informed that those who were scheduled to fly from New Delhi to Hong Kong on September 21 can travel by the October 4 flight. “Passengers holding confirmed booking on cancelled flight of 21st Sep ‘20, are requested to contact the booking offices and call centre till 1700hrs of 2nd October for booking of tickets,” Air India tweeted. Booking for the remaining seats will open on October 2 at 6pm. “Booking for remaining seats on this flight will open on 2nd October ‘20 at 1800 hrs on Air India website, Booking Offices and Call Centre,” Air India tweeted. Air India passenger flights were barred from landing in Hong Kong between August 18 and August 31 after 14 passengers on its Delhi-Hong Kong flight of August 14 tested positive for COVID-19 post-arrival.

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Now open: Air India bookings for Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bahrain

In major news, Air India Express has started taking bookings for Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bahrain. It has to be noted that these flights are in addition to the flights that have been already announced by Air India. Also, now travellers can book their air tickets via the official website of the national carrier, call centre, and office. Tickets can also be purchased from travel agents from now on. Before this, India's national carrier had announced a few additional flights to Singapore under the Vande Bharat Mission; later, international flights to and from the country were suspended till September 30 by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under Unlock 4. The DGCA in a statement said, "The competent authority has further extended the suspension on the scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India up to 2359 hours IST of 30th September. However, this restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA." As per the new announcement, the government will continue operating flights under established travel bubbles with the UK, the US, the Maldives, Japan, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Germany, France, Iraq, Canada, and Nigeria. Very soon, India will announce more bi-lateral air bubbles. Recently, the government signed a ‘transport bubble’ agreement with Kuwait to uplift stranded passengers both to/from India. More such arrangements are likely to be launched for the ease of passengers from different countries in the world.

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Assam relaxes quarantine rules for air passengers; passengers to isolate for a day if tested negative

The Assam state government has announced major relaxations in its quarantine rule for air travellers entering the region from outside the state. Elaborating more on this, Assam's Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that anyone, who either has a COVID negative certificate or has a discharge certificate with them from the hospital and have been cured of the virus, would no longer be required to undergo any quarantine on arrival or test. He stated that recovered COVID patients will now no longer need to undergo further testing or quarantine on arrival in Assam. He added that COVID negative passengers would also no longer need to undergo 10 days of quarantine, and that this decision was taken on the basis of scientific evidence, he added. The Chief Minister also mentioned that Assam is the first state in the country to introduce it; this will, however, not be applicable to those who have temperature and other symptoms. While talking to the media personnel, he mentioned that paid RT-PCR tests have also been opened up, the results of which would come within 24 hours. A mobile app, named Visitassam, has also been developed by the Assam government to facilitate air passengers to download forms, fill it up, and show it at the airports, which would help them avoid the delay in completing formalities for COVID-19 tests. The said app would also ensure that people maintain proper social distancing. Air passengers, on their arrival, will be required to stay in quarantine for just a day. They can then undergo paid RT-PCR tests, wherein the results will be declared in 24 hours. Also, known as the Tatkal RT-PCR test, one can get it done by paying INR 2200 and get results within 24 hours. Earlier, air travellers staying in Assam beyond the period of 72 hours had to undergo a rapid antigen test and a mandatory quarantine until the test results arrived.

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Amazon introduces virtual tourism service

Adding to its ever-growing range of services, Amazon has now introduced a virtual tourism service called Amazon Explore. It is an interactive live-streaming service that lets people learn, shop and discover new places from the comfort of their home, Amazon said on Tuesday. The service connects people one-on-one with hosts around the world to explore anything -- from lessons to cultural landmarks. One can ask questions, investigate new locales and make purchases during the sessions. "Our one-way video, two-way audio stream lets you see and hear your host without having to be on camera," Amazon said. "Each experience is one-on-one conversation with a host live-streaming on location, in real time. Your host will give you the insider view on things," it added. For example, with Amazon Explore, you can virtually tour the old town of the Czech Republic's capital, take a virtual walking tour of Mexico City's urban art scene, or experience Taiwan's religious customs at Taipei's Longshan Temple. To take an Amazon Explore experience, you will need a laptop or desktop computer as the service would not work on a phone or tablet. You will also need headphones or speakers and high-speed Internet of 5 mbps or better. Local experts or tour guides trained and supported by Amazon will guide the virtual experiences. The one-to-one sessions on Amazon Explore themselves range 30 to 60 minutes in length, TechCrunch reported.

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Amid Covid-19 slump, Travel Agents Association of Kashmir gears up to host tourists in Valley again

Jammu and Kashmir, which is also known as a heaven on earth, is all ready to host tourists again after a dry spell witnessed by the tourism industry due to coronavirus. Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) and other prominent stakeholders of the tourism industry met at Nigeen club in Srinagar on Sunday, after almost two years for their annual general meeting (AGM), under the supervision of Sarmad Hafeez, Commissioner Secretary Tourism, Jammu and Kashmir, and Farooq A Kuthoo, the newly elected President of TAAK. The purpose of the meeting was to elect a new governing body of the association and chalk out a strategy to revive the tourism sector in the newly created Union Territory which has lost its glory. “TAAK is one of the oldest and biggest travel agents’ bodies. Today we gathered here with a hope that we will start getting tourists again very soon. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people have not been traveling for some time, but now the time has come when people will start traveling again,” he said. He stated that hotels and travel agents have started getting inquiries for hotel bookings and other things. “The travel agents gathered today told me that we are getting inquiries for hotel booking and other things, we are geared up and quite enthusiast to welcome tourists. We are ready to host people following all the COVID protocols,” he said. Farooq Kuthoo, President, TAAK said that he is hopeful that the industry will see a boom by coming March. Speaking to ANI, Hafeez said that he’s hopeful that the tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir, which is the source of livelihood of many locals, will get back to its former glory soon. “The message of our Prime Minister is clear, be Vocal for Local. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people have suffered economic distress and their purchasing power has reduced. Now, they will refocus their attention to good domestic tourism destinations rather than planning international holidays, as they are less expensive. I think after March, we’ll see a boom in the tourism sector of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. The sudden departure of tourists from the valley due to COVID-19 resulted in huge losses for tourism players including hoteliers, houseboat owners, tour and travel operators, Shikara owners, and taxi operators. Hinan Khan, and Entrepreneur, said that she is hopeful after the meeting that the tourism industry will get back on track with the help from the administration. “After today’s meeting, I am hopeful we will get out of the turmoil triggered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, we’ll recover very soon, but we need the support of the Government to facilitate the tourists who will visit Jammu and Kashmir so that they don’t face any problem,” she said. A prominent tourism player in the valley, Rauf Tramboo also echoed Khan’s thoughts and added that the industry is ready to host tourists again. “The COVID-19 pandemic has given a setback to the industry. During today’s meeting, we talked about the steps necessary for the revival of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. We are completely prepared and ready to host tourists again,” he said.

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