Malaysia announces Visa on Arrival (VOA) effective 1st June 2022 for Indian travellers arriving in Malaysia through selected entry points via Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, or Indonesia, with a valid visa from either country.   According to the Immigration Department of Malaysia (Mumbai Attaché), the VOA fee is MYR200 (USD 46) and travellers must show that they have at least USD 500 cash/ credit card/ debit card/ traveller’s cheque or any electronic money which is certified by the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia). Travellers are allowed to stay up to 15 days with a confirmed return air ticket.   Malaysia has opened its shores for quarantine-free travel and welcomes fully-vaccinated international travellers starting 1st May 2022.  Fully-vaccinated inbound travellers are no longer required to undergo pre-departure and on-arrival COVID-19 tests, including children aged 17 and below. Currently, Malaysia’s eVISA can also be applied online and more than 18,000 seats are offered weekly between India and Malaysia through Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, AirAsia, IndiGo, and Air India Express. India has been and remains one of the top market sources for Malaysia, contributing 735,309 arrivals (+22%) in 2019.  

Discover New Zealand’s breath-taking landscapes and undiscovered corners as the perfect place to escape in this luxury webinar to be held today at 11am. Talk to the skies, explore the oceans or hit the open road to enjoy the beauty of New Zealand first-hand through tailored excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences. New Zealand’s bespoke experiences cater to a wide range of interests and tastes ensuring you will encounter true warmth and wonder in uncompromising luxury. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Jaal Kalpesh Shah, Group Managing Director, Travel Designer Group, has said that going forward, the traditional family travel agent could play a huge role. “This is because there is more trust factor, customisation and flexibility along with local knowledge. Technology will also play a part.”

Jaipur has become India’s first city to get two leopard reserves – Jhalana Leopard Reserve and the newly-added Amagarh Leopard Reserve. The reserve forest of Amagarh is an important leopard habitat and is spread across a total of 1,524 ha. It is home to 15 leopards.

Arif Patel, Regional Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Hyatt India, has said, “With over 24 executed deals for hotels, we plan to expand our brand footprint in India by eyeing more than 70 per cent growth, adding over 3,800 keys with more than 50 hotels in our portfolio in India by 2023.”

Deepak Rawat, Senior Vice President, MakeMyTrip, has said that their internal team survey revealed, “75 per cent of Indians are willing to spend more than what they were doing pre-pandemic on their travel and 52 per cent are willing to take a loan to travel. He was speaking at a panel discussion on India tourism recovery at ATM.

Discover New Zealand’s breathtaking landscapes and undiscovered corners as the perfect place to escape in this luxury webinar to be held on May 31, 2022. Talk to the skies, explore the oceans or hit the open road to enjoy the beauty of New Zealand first-hand through tailored excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences. New Zealand’s bespoke experiences cater to a wide range of interests and tastes ensuring you will encounter true warmth and wonder in uncompromising luxury. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Buddha Air has started twice-a-week direct operations between Kathmandu and Varanasi. The flights have been resumed post-COVID and will be flying on Monday and Friday every week. On arrival of the first flight, Ministry of Tourism’s India Tourism Varanasi office welcomed the tourists with rose and anagavastra.

MoT recently organised virtual roadshow titled ‘Incredible India Reconnect 2022’ from 26th April 2022 and IATO has written to them saying that virtual roadshows are no good and are not solving their problems, revealed Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO. They emphasised to have physical B2B meetings by organising roadshows which will be more meaningful and fruitful to revive business, he added.

India has emerged as the number one international source market for Thailand. This was revealed by Cholada Siddhivarn, Director Tourism Authority of Thailand Mumbai office in a webinar organised by DDP for Akbar Holidays along with Tourism Thailand. The webinar saw 1200 registrations and focussed on the SOPs for travel to Thailand for Indian travellers. She said, “Thailand recorded 95,272 travellers from India in the period January to May 2022 making it our top source market.”