News

Bhutan’s tourist policy revamp may hit travel operators in eastern India

Travel operators in eastern India are apprehending a strong impact on their business after Bhutan changed its policy on tourist entry fee. Currently, Bhutan charges every foreign visitor $250 per day, including a $65 ‘Sustainable Development Fee’ (SDF) and $40 visa charge. However, ‘regional tourists’ from India, Bangladesh and Maldives were not subjected to the SDF and visa fee. Bhutan is now going to introduce SDF and a permit processing fee for the regional tourists as well and a draft policy on the matter may be receive approval by the end of December. “Introduction of mandatory government fee for every incoming tourist, including those from India, will cut down the number of Bhutan-bound Indian tourists. As a common practice, almost all of them spend at least two nights in the eastern Himalayan region, which includes Sikkim and the West Bengal foothills,” said tourism consultant Raj Basu.

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UK and US issue travel advisory for women visiting India: Should exercise caution

This growing number of crimes against women in India has resulted in countries like UK to issue a safety advisory for its women who are travelling to the country. Recently, the UK government took to their website to publish a safety advice to be followed by travellers, especially women, in India. In the advisory titled 'India Travel Advice', the government mentioned in the Safety and security sub-head that women travellers "should exercise caution when travelling in India even if travelling in a group." The advisory suggests that women travellers in India are unsafe and at risk of getting assaulted, hence British women should exercise caution when in the country. It also asked women to respect the local dress codes and customs, to avoid isolated areas when alone at any time of day, to avoid travelling alone in a public transport and to not leave drinks unattended.

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TAT ties up with MasterCard to initiate more experiential visits for Indian tourists.

For most Indians, Thailand is the usual pick for a quick and affordable overseas beach holiday. And making it even easier is Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), which has declared a free visa on arrival for tourists from India till April 2020. Thailand’s tourism authority has also tied up with MasterCard to enable digital payments for a more experiential visit for Indian tourists. As per MasterCard data, January, May, and December are the preferred travel months for Indian tourists to Thailand. Bangkok tops MasterCard’s Global Destination Cities Index 2019 as the world’s best travel destination, and this an accolade that the city has bagged for four years in a row. Manasi Narasimhan, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, South Asia, MasterCard said, “Over one million acceptance points for digital payments make Thailand even friendlier for tourists looking for safe, secure, and convenient cashless tourism.MasterCard is committed to work with local merchants, large and small alike, and Tourism Authority of Thailand to create more distinguished cashless experiences in Thailand and encourage tourists to visit this beautiful country." Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Krabi form more than 88 percent of cardholder spending, MasterCard data reveals. TAT is now aiming to come up with experiential tours to take more Indians beyond the main cities to other parts of Thailand like Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, and Koh Samui. TAT is also thinking of sustainable eco-tourism to maintain the authenticity of these spots.

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Philippine Airlines announced new direct Perth-Manila service.

A new direct Perth-Manila service by Philippine Airlines has been announced that will boost the tourism numbers from numbers from Philippines to Australia. In March 2020 the non-stop service will commence with four flights each week. Perth Airport Chief Executive Officer Kevin Brown mentioned that the new service between Perth and Manila was a win for WA business, tourism and exports, and would inject an additional 70,000 seats into the market. There are more than 7,000 islands and amazing beaches on offer in Philippines and 20,000 people visited last year which is an attractive holiday destination for West Australians. On the new Airbus A321 neo Philippine Airlines, four flights will be operated in a week which has 12 business class seats and 156 economy seats departing from Manila at 12.06 am and will arrive in Perth 7.20 am. At 8.40 am the flight will then leave and land in Manila at 3.50 pm. In the year ending June 2019 as per the latest International Visitor Survey the number of Philippines visitors travelling to WA grew by 34.7 per cent.

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In Azerbaijan, tourism service providers to get tax benefits.

In Azerbaijan, those who are offering travel services in tourism are hoped to get tax benefits, the CEO of Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB), Florian Sengstschmid, has said. Sengstschmid said this at the 2nd General Assembly of the Azerbaijan Hotel Association organized in Baku on December 4th, local media reports. The event is all set to present the yearly reports of the Azerbaijan Hotel Association and plans for the national classification system for hotels (stars), information on the strategy for 2020, etc. Sengstschmid highlighted that the application of tax benefits may encourage the additional development of the country’s tourism businesses. Sengstschmid also observed that positive changes are hoped to start pouring in from 2020 after the adoption of Law on Tourism. He informed that the consequences of surveys in Shaki and Lankaran regions show that the respondents were not at all quite happy with the airfares, the local travel market (tours) and the quality of the transport system. Sengstschmid further mentioned that the flow of incoming tourists from Iran to Azerbaijan has grown considerably. He also added that the number of incoming Russian, Saudi and Chinese tourists is growing as well. He went on to say that in 2020, the execution of infrastructure projects is designed in Khinalig and other major touristic sites. He noted that in future, the construction of the Mud Volcanoes Guest Center will start.

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Tripura welcomes UDAN-0.4 to open 30 airports in NE.

Agartala, Dec 7 (UNI) Tripura government welcomed the move of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to open six underserved and 24 unserved airports in the Northeast, including three in Tripura, to boost tourism and business in the region. Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma said the Central government processed the fourth round of bidding under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) or regional air connectivity scheme three days ago, which aims to connect unserved and underserved airports and to make affordable for flying. In order to boost tourism, the ministry attempted to start Umrangso Reservoir of Assam as a water aerodrome.

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