The Philippines will lift travel restrictions on passengers coming from 10 countries beginning September 6, Malacañang announced on Saturday.”President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to lift the current travel restrictions in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia starting Sept. 6, 2021,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

Travelbullz has set out a mission to make them the largest market place in the world that will connect supply to the distribution and make both sides tech savvy. They also aim to empower the traditional DMCs and the travel agencies and plan to shift from an offline model of buying and selling to digital. “All our customers are tech savvy, thanks to COVID, what would have happened 5 to 7 years later has already happened” says KD Singh.

As part of its ‘Thailand Build Back Better Together’ campaign, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) India, will promote its exotic beaches & attractions in Thailand this week. The destinations in focus would be Koh Samui- Koh Tao & Koh PhaNgan. Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director, TAT, New Delhi, shares, “These 3 islands are popular for honeymooners and diving enthusiasts. There are many other things also for people to enjoy”.

As Abu Dhabi starts welcoming fully vaccinated travellers from India, rediscover M!CE in Abu Dhabi during an exclusive webinar on Tuesday, 7th September 2021, at 3pm IST. The webinar will highlight the Abu Dhabi Advantage programme that supports M!CE groups with nearly US$100 in benefits per person. For more information contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.  

Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (“YIAPL”) has been granted the right to develop, operate and maintain the Noida International Airport (“NIA”) on DBFOT basis. YIAPL intends to select a Licensee to award the right to “Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer the City Side Hotel” at NIA (the “Project”) pursuant to and in accordance with open bidding process. YIAPL wishes to receive Applications in response to this RFQ to short-list experienced and capable Bidders for the RFP Stage. In line with the same, YIAPL has Published RFQ(Request for Qualification)for above captioned project on NIA e-tendering Platform. Interested parties can download the RFQ upon successfully registering at YIAPL’s e-portal, accessible at: https://niairport.abcprocure.com For further clarification, interested parties can communicate at tenders@niairport.in.

The Republic of Turkey has declared that fully vaccinated travellers from India will no longer be subjected to mandatory 14-day quarantine rule, with effect from 4th of September 2021. The announcement will ease the travel restrictions for fully vaccinated passengers of 12 years of age and older travelling from India or stayed in India in last 14 days. The vaccines that have been approved by WHO or Turkish Government are covered under this exemption. In addition to WHO approved vaccines, the vaccines approved by Turkish Government are Pzifer Biontech, Sputnik V and Sinovac. For the same, a traveller must be taken the second dose (if Johnson&Johnson one dose is sufficient) at least 14 days prior to the date of travel. For Indian travellers who are vaccinated with Covishield will also be allowed to travel to Turkey. Once, Covaxin get a nod from WHO, travellers vaccinated with the same will also be able to visit Turkey. The fully vaccinated travellers are also required to submit their negative PCR test report taken 72 hours before departure in order to exempt the quarantine. Non-vaccinated travellers are required to undergo mandatory quarantine for 10 days in a hotel or a location mentioned in the declaration. The Republic of Turkey usually announces changes to the travel list, after assessing its criteria like corona virus cases, vaccination roll-outs and possible threats from variants to determine restrictions on different countries. By the 4th of September the Turkish government has successfully vaccinated 79% of its population above 18 of age with first dose and 62 % population above 18 of age with both the doses. Despite the fluctuating global scenario of COVID-19 strain, Turkey has kept a strong …

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has started operating a special tourist train named ‘Bharat Darshan – Splendors of India’ on a 11 nights/12 days itinerary from August 29- September 10. The train starting from Madurai will have several boarding points and will cost passengers INR 11,340 per ticket. Tourists have been advised to keep vaccination certificates or negative RT-PCR test reports of not more than 48 hours handy before boarding the train.

Effective 30 August 2021, VFS Global has resumed UAE tourist visa services for Indians. UAE announced the reopening of borders for Indian travellers ahead of the Expo 2020 trade fair scheduled to commence on 1 October 2021. Travellers will be required to present a valid negative COVID-19 Test certificate issued within 48 hours from the time of collecting the sample and from an approved health service. No GDRFA or ICA approval is required for tourists travelling to the UAE.

Switzerland’s natural landscape and scenery makes it an ideal destination for a self-drive experience. The Grand Tour of Switzerland is the ultimate scenic driving route which enables travellers to travel across Switzerland and their own pace. This 1,600-kilometer journey of discovery leads through four language regions, five mountain passes, eleven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, two biospheres and along 22 lakes. Travellers get the opportunity to discover the popular attractions, and some hidden gems too! On Friday, 3rd September 2021, at 3 pm IST, Switzerland Tourism will conduct an exclusive webinar for the travel trade highlighting the self-drive experience in Switzerland. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The high court of Bombay at Goa on Monday permitted the state government to allow the entry of fully-vaccinated persons in Goa without a COVID-19 negative test report. Partially vaccinated and non-vaccinated persons will still have to produce a negative Covid test report for entry. The expert committee has also unanimously agreed and decided to explore the possibility of issuing a universal pass which is linked to the Co-Win portal as adopted and issued by the government of Maharashtra.