Foreign-bound travellers from India that opted for Visa At Your Doorstep (VAYD) services grew by more than six times between January and July this year, revealed a data analysis by VFS Global. “Touchless travel with an enhanced focus on safety and well-being are key to customers today. The uptick in VAYD services is another great indication of changing customer preferences. With the digital consumer experience evolving rapidly, we foresee a higher demand for such premium services that enable our customers to prioritise safe travel,” said Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – South Asia, Middle East & North Africa and Americas, VFS Global.

According to Ministry of Civil Aviation’s (MoCA’s) latest notification, India has started flights between 49 cities under the Air Bubble arrangement with 18 countries in September. These special flights will be operated by airlines under an air-bubble pact between two countries, their territories. The schedule of these flights is available only till September 30.

Amitabh Kant participates in Investors conference on Eco Tourism projects at Minicoy, Kadmat & Suheli islands. In a tweet, he mentions that responsible & sustainable tourism is based on carrying capacity in Lakshadweep islands. “Sensitive tourism can emerge as a big job creator for local islanders,” he said, stressing on the need to develop sustainable tourism products on the island.

Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi is organising the ‘Rediscover M!CE in Abu Dhabi’ webinar today at 3pm IST. The webinar will see top players from the Abu Dhabi tourism and hospitality industry discussing MICE opportunities for Abu Dhabi. Register to win exciting prizes. Write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

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! Today 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.

World’s highest motorable road for the general public at a height of 18,600 feet, which connects Leh to the Pangong Lake was inaugurated in Ladakh by Jamgyal Tsering Namgyal, MP of the UT. The stretch passing through Kela Pass, has been constructed by the 58 Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army, and it will reduce 41 km of travel from Leh (Zingral to Tangtse) to the picturesque Pangong Lake crossing the Kela Pass. Until now, the Khardungla Pass was the world’s highest motorable road for the general public at a height of 18,380 ft.

The first passenger flight has taken off from Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh to Guwahati, Assam under the UDAN initiative to improve the air connectivity in the Northeastern Region, it was revealed in a tweet by the DoNER Ministry. Tezu is believed to be a stunning location to explore and it is believed that the flight service will make a comfortable trip for travellers and pilgrims in North East Region.

ATOAI Women’s Collective is organising the first ever gender sensitization workshop for the entire adventure travel industry. The virtual workshop will be held on Friday, 10th September, 2021 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM and will be conducted by an organisation called ‘Devee’, led by Priyadarshini Narendra, an IIM and INSEAD Alumni, and Doorva Bahuguna, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad. Arshdeep Anand, Chairperson, ATOAI Women’s Collective, said, “We want to start with the basics, which is to have the sense of gender sensitivity amongst everyone connected with the trade and otherwise also, because men and women work together in evry field now, and hence we need to know what is the appropriate behaviour towards each other. It is meant for both men and women as we both need to understand how we need to work together and go forward in life.”

In line with the updated international entry guidelines recently announced by the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced that Abu Dhabi is set to welcome all fully vaccinated tourists and residents travelling from all countries around the world, as well as unvaccinated visitors from ‘Green List’ countries, with no quarantine measures. Vaccines must be approved by the World Health organisation (WHO). This will take effect starting 5 September 2021. HE Saood Al Hosani, Undersecretary of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi said: “Abu Dhabi has implemented world-class COVID-19 safety procedures and an accelerated vaccination programme, which has seen a 90 percent vaccination rate in the UAE capital. These precautionary measures have enabled us to protect our citizens, residents and visitors. We look forward to welcoming back international travellers from around the world, to experience the wide and unique offerings our beautiful emirate has to offer.” Registering International vaccinations or exemption documents In order to support seamless entry for international travellers and enable visitors to safely enjoy the the UAE capital’s diverse experiences through the Abu Dhabi Green Pass, DCT Abu Dhabi has outlined a simple process to enable tourists to register their international vaccination certificate or vaccination exemption document for verification 5 days before their travel date, via the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) Smart app or via ica.gov.ae website. Applicants will receive an SMS confirmation that will include a link to the Alhosn app, which must be downloaded prior to travel. The Alhosn app displays users’ vaccination status and PCR test results, which are required to activate the Abu …

Ministry of Health has issued revised ‘Guidelines for domestic travel (flight/train/ship/ bus inter-state travel)’ to States and Union Territories and announced, “to facilitate inter-State travel, while observing required precautions, the guidelines for domestic travel (flight/train/ship/bus inter-state travel) are revised so as to have a uniform protocol for domestic travel across the country.” The revised guidelines come in line with the “declining trajectory of COVID cases across the country after a peak in reported cases during mid-May as part of the second wave. It added that in case RT-PCR or RAT tests are required prior to entry into a State, as notified by the State government, it must be publicised widely to maximise traveller convenience. As per the revised guidelines, asymptomatic persons who have taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, 15 days having elapsed since the administration of the second dose, and are in possession of the final vaccination certificate issued through the COWIN portal, may be exempted from mandatory requirement of possessing a negative RT-PCR report or RAT test on their entry into a State Previously states could develop their own protocols with regards to quarantine and isolation as per their assessment of the local COVID-19 situation. According to the revised guidelines, passengers who are found symptomatic on arrival shall be subjected to Rapid Antigen Test at the Terminal to aid early identification. “In the event of an unusual surge in cases in any State/UT, the States/UTs may institute appropriate public health measures promptly and States may implement additional restrictions, based on local requirements,” the Ministry added.