News

Eilat in Israel becomes first to ban disposables on beaches.

Eilat has become the first city in Israel to ban disposables on beaches. The southernmost city of Israel took the brilliant decision to save the Red Sea from more plastic dumping. With this decision, beach lovers won’t be allowed to carry disposable items on the beach. This applies to any item made using plastic, cardboard, paper or even aluminium. The city has put a ban on selling these items at kiosks or restaurants in proximity to the sea or on the shore. The bylaw still needs approval by the interior ministry before taking effect. The proposed fine for offenders is up to 730 Shekels (INR 14835). Maya Jacobs from an environmental NGO has dedicated her life towards the protection of Israel's seas and rivers. She praised the city’s move and called it a “groundbreaking” step. We all are well aware of the situation that coral populations across the globe is going through. Because of bleaching and global warming, the coral is dying everywhere. However, the situation here at the northern Red Sea has been stable given its unique heat resistance. Thus, it needs to be protected all the more.

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Uttarakhand to provide more facilities for pilgrims visiting Kedarnath.

Uttarakhand government has chalked out a plan to provide more facilities to pilgrims visiting Kedarnath shrine. The work will start next year and estimates of Rs 150 Crore have been planned out from corporate social responsibility funds said Dilip Jawalker, secretary tourism, Uttarakhand. Facilities will include tourist lounge, facilitation center, a small hospital and waiting lounges, changing rooms along with well-equipped toilets. The shrine town will also have a public address system which will be used inform the pilgrims about the history and importance of all important areas in Kedarpuri and regulate the crowd in the temple. The road from Bhim Bali to Kedarnath would be reconstructed which will have facilities for the pilgrims travelling to the temple. Work has been on in the holy town to transform it with facilities squaring to smart city. The reconstruction is said to directly monitored by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reconstruction of the holy town is said to be his 'Dream Project' which is said to have 'state-of-the-art' facilities.

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Not enough tourists for Koh Samui hotels.

Hoteliers in Koh Samui are suffering from oversupply, dragging down the occupancy rate.The occupancy rate on the island during the final quarter this year, as of Dec 20, has plunged to 30% from 50% in the same period of 2018. He attributed the low figures to the strong baht and trade war, as major markets such as the Chinese flock to cheaper beach destinations in Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.The slowdown will linger into the first quarter next year, considered the high season for the island. There are about 40 flights to Samui airport, operated by SET-listed Bangkok Airways, with 3,000-4,000 passengers per day. Mr Vorasit said he would like the airline to consider providing cheaper airfare to attract more tourists to Koh Samui, especially during the off-peak season of October-November and suggested lowering the landing fee at the airport to draw more chartered flights. Mr Vorasit said to facilitate tourists, a cruise pier at Koh Samui is necessary to serve cruise ship travellers, a segment that has potential to increase tourism spending and add to the occupancy rate when they stay overnight. This year 55 cruise ships are expected to visit Koh Samui, averaging 2,500 tourists, with 60% spending their time on the island shopping and sightseeing. Another 62 cruise ships are projected to dock at the island next year, with 48 ships scheduled for 2021.

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British Airways reveals its most popular destinations for holiday travel.

British Airways estimates that during the time, it’ll fly more than one million passengers. And for those who are travelling with the flag carrier, BA has some festive treats in store. On Sunday, the airline revealed that its most popular long-haul destinations this year are Cape Town, Johannesburg and Los Angeles. A little closer to home, Paris is the airline’s most popular short-haul destination, with many travellers opting to spend both Christmas and New Year’s Day in the French capital.On Christmas Day itself, there will be fewer flights in the air than a normal day. BA will operate a reduced scheduled of 210 flights, while New Year’s Eve will see 721 flights take to the skies. On Christmas day itself, BA says that it’ll serve over 100,000 traditional Christmas dinners. That’s 360,000 roast potatoes, 11kgs of turkey and 450,000 brussels sprouts.The airline’s IFE has also been sprinkled with tinsel and festive cheer. Passengers can choose from around 50 hours of festive-themed entertainment, including classics such as “Home Alone”, “Elf” and “The Holiday”.

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Peru Tourism Organises Seminar In Chennai.

PROMPERU- Commission for the Promotion of Trade, Tourism and Investments for Peru in India, today, visited Chennai for the first time to conduct a tourism seminar to stimulate the favourable growth in arrivals from the city. Owing to the increase in interest from Chennai and substantial rise in footfalls, the objective of the visit was to carry out destination training, sharing essential data with the operators and agencies, in addition to understanding the specific requirements of the market. The seminar witnessed the presence of Luis Cabello, Trade and Tourism Counsellor of Peru in India and Aromica Bhattacharya, Specialist in Tourism. During the assembly, the spokesperson shared insights on the lesser-known attractions, thus highlighting ‘Peru Beyond Machu Picchu’ which will entice more travellers from India. The Commercial Office of Peru in India, adscribed to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru (MINCETUR), is now an official extension of PROMPERU- Commission for the Promotion of Trade, Tourism and Investments for Peru in India, known as the PROMPERU India office.

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Indian passports now have enhanced new safety features.

Lotus is the national flower and it is now part of the enhanced security feature to identify fake passports and is being printed on the passports. It has been printed inside a rectangle on the page has replaced the spot where the passport officer’s signature and seal are put. The new passports come with new codes and have started being used in all the 36 passport offices across the country Besides the Ministry of External Affairs, other agencies including the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the Indian Security Press (Nasik) are part of this new upgraded passport for travellers. He had said that there is a proposal by MEA to work on e-passports which would help in making a new passport booklet with modern security features.

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