Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 5 invoked the great “rishi tradition” of India as he inaugurated several development works in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, including the unveiling of a statue of Adi Shankaracharya and monuments related his samadhi. Modi emphasised the Government’s work in reviving the cultural centres, including the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and the building of a better ropeway to access the Hemkund Sahib gurdwara in the State. He was addressed a meeting after offering prayers at the shrine and unveiling the Adi Shankaracharya statue. Recalling the devastating floods in Kedarnath in 2013 that caused extensive…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
The United States has given a green light to travellers vaccinated with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to enter the country. The revised rules will come into effect from November 8, when the US is all set to open its borders to vaccinated foreign travellers. “CDC’s travel guidance applies to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved/authorised and World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL) vaccines and encompasses any new vaccines that may be added to either of those lists over time,” said US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) press officer Scott Pauley. The new US travel rules will also accept travellers…
Pakistan has denied permission to the Go First airline, previously known as GoAir, to use its airspace for operating flights from Kashmir to the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, said, “the over-flight permission for such flights has been denied,” he said, adding that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would have technical details. “There are various aspects to this issue and the concerned authorities are fully seized of it,” he added. This week, Pakistan had said that it did not allow Srinagar-Sharjah flight of Go First to use its airspace, forcing it to take a longer…
The World Health Organization on November 3 granted Covaxin an emergency use listing, or EUL, which means the ‘made-in-India’ vaccine will finally be recognised by other countries and Indians who received the shot need not self-quarantine or face restrictions when travelling abroad. Covaxin has been cleared for use in all age groups (18+) over two doses spaced four weeks apart. However, no recommendation has been made for use on children, and available data for use on pregnant women is insufficient to assess safety or efficacy, WHO said. “The Technical Advisory Group (an independent panel that provides the WHO with vaccine…
International travel to Spain is recovering fast and could allow the tourism-dependent nation to reach pre-pandemic foreign visitor levels by 2022, the government said on November 3 after data showed a sharp rise in September arrivals. The number of foreign tourists visiting Spain more than quadrupled in September from a year ago to nearly 4.7 million, data from the National Statistics Office showed, as widespread vaccination and looser travel restrictions enticed back more visitors. “These data confirm a reactivation of international tourism is underway and that in 2022 we could recover pre-pandemic levels,” Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said in a…
AirAsia India will now allow passengers to carry 3 kg to 5 kg of additional cabin baggage for a fixed charge. Currently, AirAsia allows flyers to carry only 7 kg of cabin baggage, like many other airlines . This will be the first time that AirAsia will allow passengers to carry additional cabin baggage on AirAsia India flights. For bringing more luggage on board with them, passengers will have to pay INR 600 for additional 3 kg of cabin baggage and INR 1,000 for extra 5 kg of carry-on luggage. Under the new service ‘Carry On Xtra’, a passenger would…
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has ventured into tourism bus service and will deploy two open deck buses — which will cater to tourists in south Mumbai. Officials said that tourists will be able to enjoy a ride in these buses from November 3. “They can enjoy a ride in these open deck buses, with ticket rates of INR 150 for upper and INR 75 for the lower deck,” said Manoj Varade, BEST spokesperson. It will take a ride past the heritage buildings, monuments and places of tourist interests in south Mumbai, with the ride starting from the…
Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) has been recognized internationally for its efforts and contribution in the field of Responsible Tourism by the global forum World Travel Market (WTM), London. UTDB bagged the ‘One to Watch’ award. WTM has been driving the responsible tourism agenda forward in Europe, Africa, Americas, Australia and Asia, since 2004. The WTM Responsible Tourism Awards cover the globe – India and rest of the World. The awards committee expects leaders in Responsible Tourism to have established practices which are Evidence-based, Replicable, Innovative, Sustainable and Committed to Responsible Tourism. Out of the six categories of the awards,…
Five more countries recognise India’s COVID vaccination certificate! India has been running a strong COVID-19 vaccination drive since January and so far, more than 30 crore people in the country have been fully vaccinated. However, as countries began to lift travel restrictions for vaccinated people, India had some trouble, especially with the UK, to get its vaccine certificate recognised. Now, though, the Ministry of External Affairs on November 1 said that five more countries have recognised India’s vaccine certificate. These countries are Estonia, State of Palestine, Mauritius, Mongolia, and Kyrgyzstan. Notably, the development comes a day after India proposed mutual…
On October 21, the government announced that from November 1, fully vaccinated travellers from 47 countries and territories will be allowed to enter Thailand without quarantine, provided that they pass a Covid-19 test upon their arrival, later adding 17 more countries to the list. “I’m confident the reopening will greatly benefit the country, especially in the tourism high season that normally lasts into early next year. TAT [Tourism Authority of Thailand] is now expecting over 1 million tourists to come in the next six months, or about 300,000 per month,” the authority’s governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, said, as cited by the…
