US CDC asks travellers at high risk of severe Covid-19 to avoid cruises The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on August 20 that people at an increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19 should avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, irrespective of their vaccination status. Older adults and people with medical conditions are more likely to get severely ill from the disease and should take professional advise before cruise ship travel, the agency said. Cruise operators have been sailing from U.S. ports again in recent weeks with mostly vaccinated guests and crew after…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
The government will look into creating an adventure tourism circuit linking Kerala’s rivers to tap the great potential of river-based tourism in the southern state, Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas has said. The minister said this after experiencing rafting and kayaking on the placid waters of the Anjarakandi river in Kannur district to showcase the immense potential of river-based tourism in north Kerala ahead of the Onam festival. “Water tourism has great potential for Kerala. It is also a safe getaway for families during the pandemic. Rafting and kayaking through our rivers will be an unforgettable experience,” Riyas said…
SpiceJet on August 19 said it will conduct the trial of IATA Travel Pass mobile application that allows travellers to store and manage their verified certificates regarding Covid-19 tests or vaccines. “The trial will be conducted on flights out of Mumbai to Male effective August 23, 2021,” the airline said in a statement. IATA Travel Pass offers secure and efficient alternative to current paper processes used to manage health requirements in the wake of enormous testing and vaccine verifications, the budget carrier stated. The app manages and verifies the traveller’s Covid-19 status in line with governments’ health and border requirements,…
Turkey has vaccinated 86 million citizens by 18th August 2021, different stages. While 45 million people have received their first dose; 34 million people have received the second dose and 7 million people have received the third dose. The government of Turkey is carefully & efficiently spearheading the vaccination drive across the country With the country on the brink of restoring tourism, the Turkish government is aiming to fully vaccinate 70% of the population above 18 of age by 30th August. The government also announced that all schools across Turkey would reopen by the 6th of September, which is the…
ITB China, the marketplace for China’s travel industry, has announced Trip.com Group as its official travel service partner for this year’s show slated to be held from 24 – 26 November in Shanghai. Trip.com Group is one of the world’s leading online travel service providers with global travel brands under its umbrella providing hundreds of millions of travellers worldwide with accommodation reservation, transportation and attraction ticketing, vacation and tour packages, and corporate travel management services. Trip.com Group’s engagement at ITB China 2021 will include numerous on-site activities, sharing its latest market knowledge and forecasts at the ITB China Conference sessions,…
The Sikkim government on August 18 threw open Yumthang Valley in Lachung village for tourists, a week after it allowed similar relaxations in other famous destinations such as Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathula, a notification said. Lachung Dzumsa, a local body that controls tourism activities in the North Sikkim village, welcomed the decision and said that strict adherence to COVID guidelines will be ensured. Tourists were seen thronging the East Sikkim destinations of Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir after those were opened for visitors last week. The state government will decide on opening up another much-visited destination of Gurudongmar…
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said his government will put forth before the Centre the demand of industry bodies to resume international chartered flights to the coastal state from October this year. The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) submitted a memorandum to the CM on August 17 seeking the resumption of chartered flights to provide a boost to the tourism sector, which is reeling under the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent curbs. While domestic tourists can visit Goa with COVID-19 negative report or fully vaccinated…
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on August 18 said the central government aimed to provide an affordable air travel facility, which even a person “wearing slippers” could avail. As part of the domestic civil aviation sector’s expansion in the past four years, new airports have been opened in many smaller cities and air services started on new routes, connecting these places with big cities, Scindia said. “We want to provide an affordable air travel facility to the common people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again said this facility should be such that even a person wearing ‘hawai…
Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister, Maharashtra on August 17 launched several initiatives of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) to push tourism in the state. The projects include a new boating club, facilities for skydiving and adventure sports, tie-up with leading online travel companies to boost MTDC properties on the portals, among others. Thackeray, during the launch held at Varsha bungalow, said the state has a wide variety of tourist destinations to attract domestic and international tourists, which will boost the state’s economy and provide employment. The tourism department, in presence of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat,…
The Delhi government’s tourism department has resumed boating in the Naini Lake situated in north Delhi, officials said on August 17. The Naini Lake is situated at Model Town under the jurisdiction of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. It is a popular tourist destination where people come for boating. Though it is under the north corporation’s jurisdiction, tourism activities at the lake are being managed by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) of the Delhi government on lease. “The boating in the lake was resumed on August 14 this year. It was decided to start the boating services…
