Average economy class fares on flights of Air India, United Airlines and Lufthansa, operating under the ‘air bubble’ arrangement currently, are comparable to the average fares of pre-pandemic era, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh has said. Since July last year, India has formed bilateral air bubble arrangements with around 31 countries so that special international pax flights could be operated.

All international passengers arriving in India are mandated to declare their current health status prior to boarding on the Air Suvidha Portal. Ministry of Civil Aviation has mandated contact-less self-declaration at ‘Air Suvidha Portal’ for international passengers. This portal developed by MoCA aids passengers in providing their details of travel and final stay along with RT-PCR, vaccination status etc.

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Anna Paul, Head MICE North India, Inorbit Tours and Shailesh Patel, Proprietor, Sambhav International Travels are first week’s lucky winners for successfully subscribing to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) India’s WhatsApp Channel. Every week STB India is giving away exciting prizes to its new subscribers. One can easily subscribe to this WhatsApp channel by clicking this link http://bit.ly/stbindia and stand a chance to be the next winner. STB India’s WhatsApp channel provides updates on Destination Singapore in a more direct, swift and timely manner. Win exciting prizes by subscribing to STB India’s WhatsApp Channel: Subscribe to Singapore Tourism Board India’s WhatsApp Channel and stand a chance to win prizes every week. Get real time updates on Destination Singapore and STB’s initiatives. Subscribe by following 3 simple steps: Click this link (http://bit.ly/stbindia) to fill the form Send the prefilled WhatsApp message Save STB India’s contact card or number

As the tourism industry bounces back with all safety protocols, the Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA), South Chapter recently initiated a knowledge session for its members. Many crucial changes in travel agents booking systems which will initiate digitalisation were announced. The session was held at The Paul Hotel Bangalore on 26 November and was all about discussions of TIDS and The Paul John Hotels & Resorts familiarization tour at Domlur, Bengaluru. The Travel Industry Designatory Service (TIDS) is an identity management program designed by IATA, Canada for all non-IATA travel companies made available free of cost globally. On procuring ETAA recommendation letter, the TIDS procedure will be complete. Travel agents and tour operators availing the service will get updated on the IATA agency list. This additional agency listing in turn with benefit airlines and hotel industry globally.

Consulate General of Malaysia and Tourism Malaysia Mumbai organises a Langkawi SOP briefing session to select Travel Trade Associations, Educational and MICE Operators. Taking gradual, calibrated measures to reopen international borders, Malaysia will allow the entry of fully vaccinated foreign tourists in Langkawi without quarantine.  The Malaysian government is implementing a pilot international tourism bubble project which will initially run for 3 months started from 15 November 2021. According to the SOPs issued by the Malaysian government, Malaysia will target fully vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine for the bubble projects. Travellers will also have to present a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours before departure to Langkawi. They will also be required to hold travel insurance of a minimum USD 80,000 with them. It is also necessary for foreign tourists to engage tour operators and guides licensed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) for the trip.  Tourists must also register on the MySejahtera app before departing or upon arrival in KLIA 1. As a way forward strategy, Tourism Malaysia will be collaborating with its Airlines and product partners for many joint promotion campaigns, which will boost Indian footfalls in Malaysia. More than 97% of Malaysia’s 32 million population are vaccinated, government statistics show.

One of the ardent advocates of non-saya dates for weddings, Rajeev Jain, MD, Rashi Entertainment, believes that the Indian wedding industry will witness a significant rise as the pandemic eases. “I believe that international weddings are opening up very fast and by 2022 we will witness many international weddings. The client will spend more on entertainment as new concepts arise. The expenditure on food and clothes will also go up as the number of functions will increase due to being held within India,” he says.  

New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals the recovery of the Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism sector has soared ahead of many regions in the world with a year on year growth of more than 36%. Before the pandemic struck, Asia Pacific’s Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP represented more than US$ 3 trillion (9.9% of the region’s economy).  

Citing the pandemic as a factor, Rajni Hasija, Tourism & Marketing Director, IRCTC, said that there is a need to move out of the traditional itinerary and adopt new ways of travel amid a change in pattern in the tourism sector. She said, “The travel sector is set to undergo a transition from multi-destination tours to offbeat and slow-paced destinations.”

Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi is organising Reunite #INABUDHABI- Luxury webinar on 26th November at 11:30am IST. Get a chance to learn more about upscale experiences, luxurious stay options, world-class dining and entertainment options. To join the webinar, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.