The State of Qatar has re-opened its borders to international travellers who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with vaccines that are approved for use by the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar. A new streamlined set of measures designed to make travelling to Qatar as easy as possible, while maintaining the necessary precautions to continue to protect against the spread of COVID-19, has been implemented and is effective immediately. The new measures will allow people who are fully vaccinated to visit Qatar without the need for quarantine. The new arrangements will also make it easier for citizens and residents of Qatar to travel in and out of the country, enabling fully vaccinated people to bypass the quarantine requirement when returning to Qatar. All visitors – vaccinated or non-vaccinated – will be required to undertake a PCR test up to 72 hours prior to travel. However, travellers are advised to check the entry requirements of the country they are travelling from and will return to from Qatar, before booking any flights and should understand that those policies can change with very little notice. In order to visit Qatar – international visitors, citizens and residents – must register and upload required documentation such as a vaccination certificate, valid PCR test up to 72 hours prior to travel, and personal details through the ‘Ehteraz’ website (www.ehteraz.gov.qa). Travellers have to apply for the authorization through the ‘Ehteraz’ website (free of charge), at least 12 hours before their planned departure to Qatar. All in-bound travellers are advised to submit their application as soon as they have all their required documentation, to ensure they can board their flights as planned. Airlines are advised to only …

Rakesh Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, has revealed that in order to strengthen the MICE sector, they are looking at state level and city level MICE bureaus. “We are planning to offer MICE advantage programmes, because most of the cities internationally provide various incentives for international events. Thus, we have also advocated a similar programme to the states, and we are hopeful that it will have a positive impact,” he suggested.  

G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in his address as the chairperson of the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ meeting, stressed that BRICS member States should have good understanding of each other’s tourism products and offerings to encourage intra-BRICS tourism cooperation. Also, for tourism promotion, he stressed that BRICS alliance for Green Tourism can accelerate the recovery and development of tourism on sustainable lines.  

Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala may be exploring a plan to back a new, low-cost airline venture. He has had preliminary talks with a team of senior aviation professionals for an investment of up to US$35 million (₹260.7 cr) in the new airline. It is tentatively named ‘Akasa’ (sky) and is awaiting a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, will be addressing the 10th PATA and MOT Update & Outlook Meeting on 20th July at 12pm. He will be sharing the steps and initiatives by MOT with the PATA Members and the larger tourism fraternity in this meeting. Register on https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EYIAfgQRRFSMGGpL-zamhQ.

Members of the IATO’s UP Chapter and officials of IndiaTourism of Uttar Pradesh recently met to discuss various issues related to the revival of domestic tourism keeping in view pandemic in Varanasi and adjoining districts. The meeting, led by chapter chairman Prateek Hira, involved preparing a roadmap for the revival of domestic tourism in the region.  

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Usha Padhee, recently met with Office of the Lt. Governor in Leh, Ladakh to discuss and seek his guidance on various air connectivity issues. Secretary Civil Aviation, Ladakh Saugat Biswas and officials from AAI and SpiceJet were also present. She also visited Kargil. The meeting was to discuss flight operations in Kargil. Approval from DGCA for air operations, assessment for land, infrastructure, etc and the prospect of acquiring aircrafts on lease for both civil and commercial purposes was also discussed.  

Officials flagged off the state’s first vistadome coaches at the Mangaluru Junction railway station on Sunday. The state has introduced them with the aim of promoting rail tourism. Each vistadome coach has a seating capacity of 44 with seats that are rotatable up to 180 degrees. Wide windows offer a clear close-up view for the passengers.

Thomas Cook India leads travel recovery with its latest initiative TravShield – a definitive Travel Safety Commitment, India’s only Safe Travel programme which promises their customers the confidence to travel safely. TravShield commits to protecting their customers in every possible aspect of Personal, Mental and Financial Safety.  Thomas Cook India has also addressed the apprehension/concerns of people on committing their money on travel by launching ‘Holiday First, Pay When You Return’. Inviting the trade to attend this, Romil Pant, Senior Vice President – Holidays, Thomas Cook India, says, “We look forward to each one of you joining us on the occasion as we talk about ‘TravShield’ and ‘Travel Now Pay Later’ idea and assist the trade in re-inventing travel. We promise you a lot of interaction and fun during the webinar as we give all participants.” To participate, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call 9650196532, or register directly at https://event.webinarjam.com/register/264/wy0z2bk8

Rakesh Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, has shared that the MOT is currently working on NIDHI+ platform. “We are consolidating on what we had built as a platform and also building SAATHI framework for other quality certifications also. NIDHI+ looks at four elements. One is the registration of units, which could be hospitality units, tour operators, travel agents, and all kinds of tourism service providers. Second is consolidation of quality certification, including sustainability certification and adventure tourism certification. We are also working with OTAs for integrating database and trying to build a unified database, as well as to help our tourism service providers get listed on OTAs and Incredible India website. The 4th pillar is working with the ministries of MSME and FRRO offices, because they also have database of hospitality units and MSME units, which would allow us to remove duplicacies and help build one unified database,” he added.