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  

Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head (Middle East, India & South East Asia), South African Tourism, says, “With world-class safety and hygiene measures, screening techniques, unique accommodation establishments, off-beat socially distanced experiences and the warmest tourism service, we cannot wait to give the Indian trade fraternity a taste of our finest hospitality and luxury, as they get ready to sell travel. We look forward to mutually-beneficial and long term business partnerships as well as knowledge sharing between South African exhibitors and Indian buyers to stem from VirtuallyYoursSouthAfrica.”  

German airline Lufthansa on Wednesday received an investor for 2.14 billion euro ($2.47 billion). This will help motivate travel companies looking to weather the after effects of the COVID-19 crisis. The company said that its rights issue was 98.36% subscribed by investors, and the remainder was quickly sold in the open market soon after.

Guidelines for the Recognition of Tourism Service Providers of West Bengal has been approved and released by the state government. The new guidelines will replace the 2006 policy. Nandini Chakravorty, Principal Secretary, Tourism Department of West Bengal and the Tourism Department of West Bengal have made significant changes in the policy such as categorization of Tour Operators into Inbound, Domestic, MICE, Cruise and Adventure to enable them to specialize and extend superior services. The new guidelines categorically define the different segments of service providers as per the current industry structure.

Fully vaccinated Indians travelling to the United Kingdom will not be quarantined from October 11, the British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, announced on October 7. Covishield or another UK approved vaccine now accepted by the UK government.”I’ll be cutting 47 destinations from our red list including South Africa, with just 7 countries and territories remaining banned, all others will be included in the “rest of world” category. I’m also making changes so travellers visiting England have fewer entry requirements, by recognising those with fully-vaccinated status from 37 new countries and territories including India, Turkey and Ghana, treating them the same as UK fully vaccinated passengers”added Rt Hon Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, UK

Arvind Singh, Secretary, MOT, in his address at the Buddhist Circuit conference in Varanasi, shared that in a ministerial meeting, the Prime Minister has said that at the launch of Kushinagar airport, he would like to invite some Buddhist Circuit tour operators as well, so that they can get information about the circuit. Also, there will be 13 Buddhist countries’ ambassadors, as well as airline operators, since the idea is to promote the Buddhist religious tourism in the region.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to begin granting fresh tourist visas for foreigners coming to India through chartered flights with effect from October 15, 2021.  Foreign tourists entering into India by flights other than chartered aircraft would be able to do so only with effect from November 15, 2021 on fresh Tourist Visas.  All due protocols and norms relating to COVID-19 as notified by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare from time to time, shall be adhered to by the foreign tourists, carriers bringing them into India and all other stakeholders at landing stations.

EQT Private Equity is set to sell a majority stake in VFS Global to Blackstone and retain a minority position. According to sources, the acquisition is estimated at over $2 billion valuation. Zubin Karkaria, CEO of VFS Global, further commented, “On behalf of the entire VFS Global team, I want to thank EQT for the very collaborative and value enhancing partnership over the past five years. With EQT’s trust and support – especially during the COVID-19 pandemic – we are in a much stronger position today and look forward to the next phase of growth together with Blackstone.”

As part of the Union government’s ”Dekho Apna Desh” initiative Ministry of Tourism in association with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has organised the Buddhist Circuit Train FAM Tour. Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State for Tourism & Defence flagged off the Buddhist Circuit special Train from Safdarjung Railway Station, Delhi on Monday. The focus is to bring out the potential of Buddhist tourism through ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ campaign.

Inviting the trade to participate in the upcoming virtual roadshow, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head, SAT, says, “We look forward to engaging the travel trade at our show from October 20th to 22nd. We are excited about the opportunities that a diverse South African delegation of about 100 suppliers will bring to the table. In addition to experiences, representatives from accommodation establishments, DMCs, Provinces, VFS, airlines, and SMMEs will showcase their products.”