IATO has finalised the list of contenders for the forthcoming election of the association on March 6. The contenders are Lally Mathews and Rajiv Mehra for President, EM Najeeb and Sarab Jit Singh for Senior VP, Lajpat Rai and Ravi Gosain for VP, Rajesh Mudgill and Rajnish Kaistha for Honorary Secretary, and Sunil Mishra and Viney Tyagi for Honorary Treasurer.

The State Department of Tourism, Kerala, has given great importance to the Pilgrim Tourism Circuit and it has conceived various projects to construct basic pilgrim amenities at many religious centres. Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran recently laid the foundation for the Rs3-crore pilgrim amenity centre at Madre De Deus Church, Vettukad.

VFS Global has been awarded the contract for Morocco visa services starting from 21 January 2021, and VACs have been rolled out in Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai. The centres are currently accepting work, business, seminars/conferences, student/researcher, family reunification, journalist and investor visas. Issuance of tourist visas is currently on hold due to the ongoing pandemic and related border closures. Pranav Sinha, Head – South Asia, VFS Global, says, “We are excited about starting the new year with a new partnership, and welcoming Morocco as VFS Global’s 65th client government.” As part of precautionary measures, customers visiting our centres may be subjected to body temperature checks to assess their health conditions and required to wear face mask and gloves. Customers exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, including fever (higher than 37.3 degrees Celsius), cough and difficulty breathing will be allowed to reschedule their application submission for another day and will be advised to seek medical attention at the nearest healthcare facility of their choice.

Anmol Zutshi, GM, Ashok Events, ITDC, says that there will be an increase in the number of hybrid events, going forward. “With restrictions in place and with reduced number of people allowed at events, there will be a happy mix of physical and virtual events. We hope things open up soon, because events require human interaction and feel,” he iterates.

The road from Leh to Kargil in the Union Territory of Ladakh will soon be given a makeover as a tourist highway, according to a plan prepared by the Union Ministry of Culture & Tourism. Under the said plan, all facilities for tourists will be developed at regular intervals on the 230-kilometre stretch of highway between the two towns.

Under its ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ initiative, Indiatourism Mumbai office recently conducted a roadshow in Indore. This was followed by a three-day Fam tour to Mandu and Maheshwar in MP along with a city tour of Indore, sponsored by MP Tourism. Present at the roadshow were Sonia Meena, Deputy Secretary and Additional Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board. More than 20 agents were a part of this Fam. The Ahmedabad-Indore-Ahmedabad tickets were sponsored by Flybig.

In response to the request by Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) and FHRAI to allow reopening of spas and Ayurveda centres in the state, Kerala government has said that the same will be allowed to operate with strict compliance of COVID protocols and guidelines, to help overcome the crisis faced by the tourism industry.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism recently organised a virtual roadshow for travel agents and tour operators of Pune. “We are hoping that this roadshow will stimulate their curiosity, and they in turn will lead their guests to explore and experience MP,” said Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary – Tourism, Govt of MP and Managing Director, MPTB.

With the objective of expanding Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport’s current capacity of handling 2.5 crore passengers annually to 3.4 crore, a growth of approximately 36 per cent, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) has successfully priced an offering of $300 million bond in the international bond market.

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has further etched its imprint in the state of Gujarat by opening two new properties at Kevadia (Statue of Unity) and Junagadh. With the opening of these hotels, the group now has a presence of 19 hotels in 17 cities across the state. The two hotels will together add 355 rooms to the group’s existing inventory.