Sri Lanka has opened its borders to India after a long anticipated hiatus. Fully vaccinated travellers will only require a negative PCR 72 hour prior to arrival and an on-arrival PCR test at a certified hotel. They will then be allowed to roam across the country freely. Sri Lankan Airlines will operate four weekly flights to Chennai, three to Mumbai, and one to Bengaluru under its new schedule, and is expected to introduce significant frequency enhancements.

Lindiwe Sisulu took on her new role as the new Minister of Tourism for South Africa. With vast bureaucratic experience, Ms. Lindiwe Sisulu will bring her diverse skillset and strategic prowess to the role, even as South Africa firms up plans for international tourism recovery. Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism said, “We are excited to welcome and work closely with Ms. Lindiwe Sisulu in her new capacity as Minister of Tourism, especially for the India market. Her expertise and core competencies will be crucial as we create safe experiences for the outbound Indian traveller. After a year and a half under lockdown, Indian travellers are raring to explore, contingent to strong safety measures and ease of travel. India has always been a huge market for South Africa, and this is our chance to pay back by crafting the safest holidays for those seeking to travel.”

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has opened applications for tourist visas from all countries starting August 30. As per the new UAE travel guidelines, tourists will need to be vaccinated with one of the Covid-19 vaccine shots approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). This also applies to tourist visa holders from countries where travel to the UAE is restricted, authorities announced on Saturday.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) India Offices, New Delhi and Mumbai have announced the launch of ‘Thailand Build Back Better Together’Campaign, which is a pan India Travel Agent Engagement. Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director, TAT, New Delhi Office, shares, “This is 2nd campaign for travel agent engagement and the objective of this year’s campaign is to reconnect travel agents in India and travel and tourism suppliers in Thailand by creating an awareness through a weekly Selfie at Virtual Photo Booth, promotions and contest on different themes, polls, articles, of destinations, tourism products and services as well as update travel situation in Thailand.

The Odisha government has decided to develop the unexplored and lesser-known Bat Island near the Hirakud Dam Reservoir as an attraction for eco-tourists. People will be able to visit the island as a part of Hirakud Cruise, which will be launched by the Forest and Environment department by the state government.

The Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India in collaboration with Department of Tourism, Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh and Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) is organizing an event titled Ladakh: New Start, New Goals from 25th -28th August 2021. The objective of the event is to promote tourism to Ladakh as a tourist destination with focus on aspects of adventure, culture and responsible tourism.

Infrastructure major GMR has come forward to adopt the historic Golconda Fort, Union Tourism and Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy said on Tuesday. He told reporters that this would be on the lines of Dalmia Bharat Group adopting the Red Fort under the Union Tourism Ministry‘s ‘Adopt a heritage’ scheme.

Alok Sharma, CEO& Founder, Shycocan Corporation has claimed that there is a need for widespread use of technology to mitigate the risk of COVID. “We can sure help prevent the next wave and it will give confidence to business and humans to have a more normal life. The incidents, if any, would be less sporadic if it was not adopted in a big way,” he said. He also said Shycocan can work in outdoors and it is effective against mutants of virus as well. “It worked equally well on all mutants because it neutralises the cell positive charge from the virus and it doesn’t kill the virus. Human cells are negatively charged, and that’s why infection happens. Hence, it doesn’t matter which variant is there because the shell will get neutralised with Shycocan,” he claimed.

In an insightful discussion with industry stalwarts during the M!CE talk Digital Conclave, powered by Cvent India, Sabbas Joseph, Founder & Director at Wizcraft International Entertainment, called for an urgent need for the government to collaborate with MICE players in India. He said, “The world that we operate in has changed. While the government has gone very heavily for technology, its in bits and pieces. That technology must be made available to the MICE industry to help it make it that much safer. I think there is a need for collaboration using AI to understand consumers and being able to predict patterns and behaviour.”

As of 26th June 2021, Indian travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield can enter Switzerland without having to undergo quarantine. The Embassy of Switzerland and VFS Global have started accepting applications for all types of Schengen Swiss visas. Switzerland Tourism, in partnership with the Visa Section of the Embassy of Switzerland, will conduct a special webinar for the travel trade highlighting the latest news and information about the visa process and travel procedure for Indian travellers on Friday, 27 August, 2021 at 3:00 PM IST. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.