The government of Karnataka announces on Monday that RT PCR reports of international travellers on arrival at airports in Karnataka is not required as the Covid numbers are declining. Chief Secretary, P Ravi Kumar, said passengers would have to mandatorily upload the RT PCR reports on Air Suvidha Portal. Also, the international passengers will not be checked for oxygen saturation level unless they show signs of being unwell.

New measures to boost bilateral travel between Sri Lanka and India came under review yesterday at the third meeting of the Joint Working Group. The virtual meeting was co-chaired by Ministry of Tourism Secretary, S. Hettiarachchi from Sri Lanka and Ministry of Tourism, Joint Secretary, Rakesh Kumar Verma from India. Almost two-thirds tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in the month of September 2021 were from India, the High Commissioner mentioned that the easing COVID-19 situation in both India and Sri Lanka and the tourism promotion activities undertaken by the Government of Sri Lanka had been instrumental in the resumption of large number of tourist arrivals from India to Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh on 20th October. The inauguration of the Kushinagar International Airport will be marked by the landing of the inaugural flight at the airport from Colombo, Sri Lanka, carrying Sri lankan delegation of over hundred Buddhist Monks & dignitaries. The Airport has been built at an estimated cost of Rs. 260 crore, to facilitate domestic & international pilgrims to visit the Mahaparinirvana sthal of Lord Buddha. It will serve nearby districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and is an important step in boosting the investment & employment opportunities in the region.

The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts announced the opening of their second hotel in the Garden City,The Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru. Nestled amidst the pristine environs of Bhartiya City, one of India’s largest integrated smart cities, spread across 125 acres, the hotel exudes modern luxury and sophistication.“Bhartiya City is a unique place that celebrates local history and environment and has become a landmark in Bengaluru today. We are pleased to welcome The Leela to Bhartiya City to join us in our vision of providing space and legendary luxury to our customers. We hope that this launch will be a step in redefining the future of hospitality”. said Snehdeep Aggarwal, Founder-Chairman, Bhartiya.

In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, CEO, NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, had an interaction with the Administrative Secretaries of different Departments in Srinagar today. Kant said that long term growth needs the involvement of private players in a transparent and competitive manner.”The industrial sector is the one having a major role in creating jobs, therefore focus on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ which will help bring in private players and that NITI will support the government through transaction advisors in range sectors that may need to involve private players, besides, creating an ecosystem for large companies,” he added.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government is planning to craft a religious tourist circuit comprising all places travelled by 15th century Vaishnavite scholar Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev. Sarma said that Sankardev was a great Indian and the greatest Assamese of all times. He was a great social reformer who laid the foundation of the greater Assamese society. He added considering the social and religious contributions of Sankardev, there is still ample scope for research on his life and works.

TravelBullz and the Tourism Authority of Thailand present Indian Travel League (ITL), a weekly online competition starting on 20th of October. The Indian Travel League (ITL) is a fun-filled quiz program aimed at engaging the travel agent community in India. ITL would focus on generating interest in destinations, hotels, resorts, attractions and sightseeing options in Thailand. The goal of the program is to help agents in India to increase their margins while selling Thailand’s destinations to generate interest, awareness and educate sellers about the destinations and hotels.

As AirAsia’s rapid transformation from an airline into a digital travel and lifestyle services group continues to gain strong momentum, the holding company for the airline group has been officially renamed AirAsia Aviation Limited. Bo Lingam, formerly President for AirAsia Group, takes over as Group CEO of AirAsia Aviation Limited, overseeing the four airlines in the Group (AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Philippines,  AirAsia Thailand and AirAsia Indonesia). Group CEO of AirAsia Aviation Limited Bo Lingam said: “This structural change helps facilitate strong projected growth in both airline and non-airline portfolio businesses.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, virtually flagged off 6 routes expanding the aerial connectivity of North-East India. The routes commencing operations from today are Kolkata – Guwahati, Guwahati – Aizawl, Aizawl – Shillong, Shillong – Aizawl, Aizawl – Guwahati, and Guwahati – Kolkata. “Mizoram is the gateway to North-East India. The city has an immense amount of importance for its tourism & economic sector. We are committed to giving wings to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of making it possible that every state’s uniqueness must be experienced by all citizens of the country”, said Scindia.

As Thailand prepares to re-open its borders to the World, TravelBullz and the Tourism Authority of Thailand prepares to welcome Indian guests back to Amazing Thailand through Indian Travel League. ITL will be a weekly campaign with a total of 4 rounds, starting on 20th of October. Each week a match would conclude with a wordplay format quiz. The goal is to to generate interest, awareness and educate sellers about the destinations and hotel & attraction partners. To register, click on: https://travelbullz.in/itl