Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, shares that he is running strong campaign with the Chief Ministers of all states for reduction of VAT on ATF. “I am approaching every CM sequentially and asking them to lower the VAT on ATF. There are 11 state governments, which charge between 1-5% and around 27 state governments charge between 5-30%. My target is to get as many states to charge between 1-5% VAT on ATF, so that there is increased penetration in terms of connectivity,” he said in Kushinagar.

Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has joined hands with John Cena for their new tourism campaign to promote tourism to the emirate. The actor is starring in a new tourism film for Abu Dhabi, in which he highlights why the Time is Now to visit the emirate. The film has been released after the announcement that Abu Dhabi is welcoming all international vaccinated travellers and those travelling from Green List countries back to the Emirate, without any need to quarantine.

Speaking about the impact its first virtual roadshow has made, Sthembiso Dlamini, Acting CEO & COO, South African Tourism, says, “We are delighted at the response received from all stakeholders including suppliers, buyers and corporates at the VirtuallyYoursSouthAfrica show. India is a critical market for us as we look at travel recovery and we believe that the partnerships formed and relationships built here will hold us in good stead. We look forward to creating customised itineraries specifically for the evolved Indian traveller basis the insights and inputs we received from our trade partners.”

Paras Lakhia, Managing Committee Member and Chairman, Airlines Council, TAAI represented the travel trade fraternity in a meeting on Ministry of Civil Aviation’s draft ‘Heli-Tourism Policy’. In the meeting, he said that Heli business may pick up fast if Aerial tours at Tourist destinations could be started on priority so that travellers and visitors may see the entire place in limited time. His suggestions in the meeting included inviting players to foray into the vertical of Heli Tourism & emphasis was given on the need of developing Heli infrastructure at the same pace as developing airports & seaports. He also mentioned that all-important religious and hill station destinations especially where road journey is tedious but are well visited and popular should be facilitated with Heli service from its nearest airport or seaport. This includes destinations & routes, such as Hampi, Coorg, Kevadia, Munnar, Goa, Udaipur to Nathdwara, Delhi to Agra, Bengaluru to Mysore, Srinagar to Gulmarg & many more.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, has flagged the inaugural SpiceJet Delhi-Tirupati flight and hence boosting the connectivity between the National capital and spiritual capital of India. Also present at the virtual inauguration were General VK Singh, MoS, Civil Aviation; Prahlad Singh Patel, MoS, Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti; Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet; an Usha Padhee, JS, MoCA.

Bali has opened to fully vaccinated travellers from 19 countries including China, India, and France. The UK is not on the list yet. However, visitors to the island still need to serve a five-day quarantine period in a hotel. Around 82% people in Bali are fully vaccinated, which is one of the highest vaccination rates in Indonesia. The Government has released the full list of countries and have said they expect hotel and flight bookings to pick up over time.

Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home Affairs & Minister of Co-operation,  has said that Goa was the most preferred tourism destination in the world and hence PM Modi has taken a decision to allow charter airplanes to fly into Goa from October 15. Also, he added that Mopa airport should be ready in one year and will enhance tourism. “With Goa achieving 100 per cent vaccination, the situation is conducive for tourism,” he claimed.

Italy has launched a new national airline, Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA), in place of Alitalia, which closed down after reporting huge losses recently. ITA flew its inaugural flight on 14th October and unveiled its brand and logo, which showcase the red, white and green of its predecessor Alitalia. However, it will be a low-cost airline. ITA won Alitalia’s iconic brand for 90 million euros, nearly one third of what Alitalia was hoping for, the carrier said late on Friday.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has shared that e-Tourist visa website has been opened for foreigners, for 30 day validity, which will be counted in the free 5 lakh visa granted by GoI. However, he said that e-visa for UK and Canada has still not been opened, and they still need to apply for paper visa. In addition, the Government should also start scheduled international flights.

Sharing her expectations from the upcoming VirtuallyYoursSouthAfrica roadshow on October 20, Sma Dlamini, Acting Executive Manager – Tourism, Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency, says, “We intend to meet with the Indian trade to showcase Mpumalanga’s diverse and unique product offerings, while also establishing joint marketing initiatives which will be mutually beneficial for both – our potential trade partners in India and us. We especially look forward to displaying the scenic beauty and abundant wildlife in Mpumalanga, as we look to attract increased tourist footfall from India.”