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Gujarat's first seaplane service likely to start in October

Route from the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity close to the Sardar Sarovar Dam has been identified as one of the two seaplane routes in Gujarat under the Udan Scheme to boost tourism Come October and Amdavadis can fly to Statue of Unity in Rajpipla in a jiffy instead of taking the road or rail that takes at least four to five hours. The route from the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity close to the Sardar Sarovar Dam has been identified as one of the two seaplane routes in Gujarat under the Udan Scheme to boost tourism and connectivity in the country. With the introduction of seaplanes, the four to five hours route will be cut short to just one hour. The other route that has been identified in Gujarat is the Shetrunji River at Palitana in Bhavnagar district. The two routes in Gujarat are among the 16 such routes identified across the country under the Udan scheme of the Centre. Palitana is the biggest religious destination for the Jain community. Union Minister of State for Shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya, who also has internal waterways transports and ports under his charge has said the seaplane operation between Sabarmati Riverfront and Statue of Unity will start in October 2020. Top sources in the Union Ministry of Shipping said the hydrographic surveys at both ends, Sabarmati Riverfront and the Statue of Unity has already been completed. “Hydrographic survey involves the flow of water and the quantity of water and also mapping of the water body. This has already been completed.” “We will soon begin work on building a floating jetty at both ends. The platform will be prepared and then private players will be identified. Besides, talks are already on with airlines. We will be inviting private seaplane operators for the project,” top officials at the Centre told Mirror. “The charge for both the routes in Gujarat is likely to be around Rs 5,000 and tourists can book return tickets to reach the destinations and come back by evening,” the source added. “The work of building of jetties will be completed within three months. Also, infrastructure for the same including places where tourists can sit and buy tickets will be built at both ends,” an official told Mirror. The official said four to five trips have been planned daily and talks are on with private airlines for the same. “It will be most convenient for tourists from Ahmedabad to fly to Statue of Unity and return in a day’s time without spending much time. Besides, the other route of Palitana will also allow tourists to fly to the destination and return. It will not just be a time saver but also boost tourism.”   The official said the seaplane routes are a vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The project brings back memories of the PM's seaplane flight from Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to Dharoi in December 2017. “A seaplane normally accommodates 14 passengers,” the official said.

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Maldives to open up for visitors in mid-July

The Maldives has decided to re-open its borders for international travel from July 15, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said, as the Indian Ocean archipelago tries to revive its pandemic-hit economy and vital tourism sector. “This will provide much needed relief to our Tourism Industry and accelerate the country’s economic recovery,” Mr. Solih told a media conference in Male on Tuesday. Tourism accounts for over 70% of the country’s GDP and coronavirus (COVID-19) forced Male to shut down its capital and atolls to visitors, in order to contain the spread of the virus. According to data published by the Maldives’s Ministry of Health, the country, which is home to some four lakh people, has reported 2,238 cases as of COVID-19 and eight deaths as of Wednesday, with a total recovery rate of 81.72 %. Observing that COVID-19 had taken a toll on the entire world, Mr. Solih pointed to case numbers being “much lower than health authorities initially expected” and a “drastic decrease” in the number of active cases. “Much of this can be credited to the Government’s early interventions to halt viral spread, and the proactive efforts of our health authorities to test, trace and isolate positive cases,” he told the media. According to a statement from his office, prayers in congregation are expected to resume in July, while students will return to classrooms, and restaurants and cafes will open for dine-in service. Meanwhile, the Indian mission in Male has evacuated 5,000 Indians who were stranded in the country, through special flights and by sea. So far, 210 Indians in the Maldives tested positive, according to official sources in Male.

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Kochi sees arrival of business and local tourists

KOCHI: With relaxation in lockdown restrictions, the tourism sector in Kochi is limping back to normal. The past two weeks have had hotels and resorts witnessing the arrival of business and local tourists.According to industry stakeholders, it will take at least two to three months for the footfall to match that of the pre-lockdown period. “Business tourists from other states and districts have started coming in. Resorts and hotels have started receiving bookings. But, the number of tourists is low compared to pre-Covid days. Recently, a group of people who came to Kochi on a business tour booked resorts here. Besides Kochi, guests have started arriving at Kumarakom and Munnar too. However, it would take time for tourism activities to return to normal,” said K Raj Kumar, joint director, Kerala Tourism. According to Raj Kumar, Tourism Department has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to all tourism stakeholders. “Business tourists coming from other states can stay for only limited days. Guidelines on precautions to be taken while accepting guests have also been issued. The directive from the Ministry of Tourism is being followed. Details of the guests are collected before their arrival and we keep in touch with hotels and resorts to update the status of the guests,” he said. PAID QUARANTINE Hotels, resorts and lodges are receiving good response to their paid quarantine facilities in Ernakulam. As on Tuesday, 1,207 people are staying in hotels and resorts in paid quarantine. “There are two types of people who opt for paid quarantine. People who don’t want to mingle with family members despite having all facilities at home and those with limited facilities at home. Daily, 10 to 20 people avail paid quarantine facilities,” a health official said. He added that training sessions were conducted recently for employees of hotels and resorts where paid quarantine facility is provided. HOMESTAYS Homestays in Kochi which are popular among tourists are yet to open. “We are receiving several enquiries. However, owing to Covid-19 threat, people are apprehensive. Most of the homestays are located away from the city and local people are not enthusiastic about the arrival of people from other states. We are not accepting guests for paid quarantine too,” M P Shivadathan, director, Kerala Home Stay and Tourism Society (HATS).

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Indian Railways to give full refund for all tickets booked on or before April 14

New Delhi: The Indian Railways will issue a full refund for all tickets booked on or before April 14, 2020, said the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday. The railways ministry said full refunds will be provided to those passengers for the regular time-tabled trains that were cancelled due to the lockdown. "Ministry of Railways has decided that all train tickets booked on or prior to 14th April 2020 for the regular time-tabled trains should be cancelled and full refund generated as per provisions contained in the letters issued earlier," it said in a statement. The government on May 14 announced that all trains scheduled for travel between March 22 and June 30 stood cancelled in wake of the coronavirus pandemic-induced nationwide lockdown. However, Shramik special trains for migrant workers were allowed to operate from May 1 to ease the on-foot migration of labourers from cities towards their native villages in absence of the public transport. On March 24, a two-week lockdown was announced by the government which was extended until June 1 with phased relaxations. The Indian Railways has already refunded Rs 1,885 crores towards cancellation of tickets to passengers during the period March 21 to May 31 on tickets booked through the online mode. The entire amount was transferred to the bank accounts which were used to book the tickets. The Indian Railways made the refunds in a timely and ensured that the passengers did not have to visit the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counter for getting their money back. On May 13, Ministry of Railways announced that old bookings of all regular trains other than 'Shramik Special trains' till June 30 shall be cancelled and refunds will be initiated for tickets booked for the lockdown period as well.

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Relief for tourism sector likely in Himachal

With clouds of uncertainty and gloom looming over the tourism industry, the government could come out with a relief package, including disbursal of soft loans, for hoteliers and other stakeholders. A decision in this regard is likely to be taken by the Cabinet at its meeting scheduled for June 25. Despite the state giving the go ahead for non-commercial opening of hotels for guests from within the state, none of the hoteliers were keen to start operations in view of Covid. Various departments concerned, including law, finance and tourism, are jointly trying to formulate a relief package for hoteliers and other stakeholders associated with the hospitality sector. “The endeavour is to cover up for the bare minimum loss that the tourism industry has suffered for the summer season, which attracts the highest number of tourists,” said an official. The Tourism Department will hold a meeting with all stakeholders, including hoteliers and organisers of adventure sports and other activities, on June 26. The new SOPs will be framed in consultation with these people who are directly associated with the hospitality sector. The hoteliers, on their own, are keen to prepare and train their staff for post-Covid operations. An awareness and training programme is scheduled to be held for 100 hotel and restaurant owners here in the state capital on June 24. The government is worried as the tourism sector contributes 7.3 per cent to the state GDP and in terms of money, this works out to be about Rs 8,100 crore. Every year, this contribution has been on the rise and so has the influx of tourists, both domestic and international.

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Europe leads cautious restart of tourism

Restrictions on travel, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are slowly being eased, allowing tourism to restart in a growing number of destinations. The latest research by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows that 22% of all destinations worldwide (48 destinations) have started to ease restrictions, with Europe leading the way. At the same time, however, 65% of all destinations worldwide (141 destinations) continue to have their borders completely closed to international tourism. As the United Nations specialized agency for tourism, UNWTO has been monitoring responses to the pandemic since the start of the current crisis. This latest update, the fifth edition of COVID-19 Related Travel Restrictions: A Global Review for Tourism, shows that the sector is slowly restarting, though this restart is significantly more pronounced in some global regions. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “The restart of tourism is of vital importance – for livelihoods, for businesses and for national economies. This latest overview of global travel restrictions shows that growing numbers of destinations are beginning to ease the restrictions they introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is being done in a responsible and measured way. However, this crisis is not over. UNWTO will continue to work with our Member States around the world to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and to ensure that, when the time is right, tourism can help drive a responsible and sustainable recovery.” International travel within Europe restarting while other regions remain closed: According to UNWTO, as of 15 June, 22% of all destinations (48 destinations) have now eased restrictions on travel, up from just 3% (7 destinations) on 18 May. Destinations that have eased travel restrictions for tourists include: - 37 destinations in Europe, including 24 of the 26 Schengen Member States - 6 destinations in the Americas, including 5 Small Island Developing States - 3 destinations in Asia and the Pacific, including 2 Small Island Developing States - 2 destinations in Africa At the same time, the COVID-19 Related Travel Restrictions report makes clear that many destinations are maintaining a cautious approach to lifting or easing restrictions on travel. As of 15 June, 24% of all destinations worldwide (51 destinations) have had travel restrictions now in place for 19 weeks and 37% (80 destinations) for 15 weeks. In total, 65% of destinations worldwide (141 destinations) continue to have their borders completely closed. In Africa, the proportion of destinations where borders remain closed to tourists stands now at 85%. In the Americas, 76% of destinations maintain full border closures, as do 67% of destinations in Asia and the Pacific and 92% of destinations in the Middle East. In Europe, these full border closures are reduced now to 26% of all destinations.

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