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.

As of 26th June 2021, Indian travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield can enter Switzerland without having to undergo quarantine. The Embassy of Switzerland and VFS Global have started accepting applications for all types of Schengen Swiss visas. Switzerland Tourism, in partnership with the Visa Section of the Embassy of Switzerland, will conduct a special webinar for the travel trade highlighting the latest news and information about the visa process and travel procedure for Indian travellers today at 3pm IST. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Air Austral has officially received the first of the three A220-300s it ordered from Airbus in October 2019. The A220-300 acquisition process was successfully finalised on 27th July 2021. The second and third aircraft will be delivered shortly. Air Austral is continuing with its progressive strategy and is now the first French airline to have added this type of latest-generation aircraft to its fleet. The three new aircraft will streamline and modernise Air Austral’s medium-haul fleet by replacing two Boeing 737-800NGs and the ATR 72-500. “The arrival of this new aircraft is a significant moment for Air Austral, even more so in the current health crisis which we have been enduring for more than a year now. I would like to thank and congratulate the teams and partners who made this important and strategic acquisition possible for Air Austral, and for its future. This is an essential and responsible investment for us: the Airbus A220-300 will open up new horizons for us. It is the aircraft we needed to reinforce our pioneering position in the Indian Ocean and offer long-term profitability. The A220-300’s level of comfort and performance means that we have been able to make a major leap in operational and environmental efficiency. Our regional service is going from strength to strength. We look forward to sharing this new travel experience with our customers and will do so once the health situation improves. We are, more than ever before, ready for business recovery.” Marie-Joseph Malé, Air Austral CEO “We extend a warm welcome to Air Austral, who has just joined the ever-growing community of A220 customers and operators. With the efficient A220, Air Austral will be able to extend …

G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister, Tourism, Culture & DoNER addressed the mega-tourism event ‘Ladakh: New Start, New Goals’ virtually, where ‘A Tourism Vision for Ladakh’ document was unveiled which focuses on overall development of the Ladakh Region. “The Central government has also contributed Rs.23.21 Crore for Tourist Water Screen Projection Multimedia show and other tourist attractions and also developing Chaukihang Vihara Project under the PRASHAD scheme,” announced Reddy.

Following its successful transition from BHMA to Cross Hotels & Resorts, the Thailand-based hospitality group will now change the name of its X2 brand to Cross and X2 Vibe to Cross Vibe. This name change is part of the group’s strategy targeted to emphasise the strength of its capabilities, growth, and commitment to identify product position in the marketplace. All X2 and X2 Vibe hotels in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam will be progressively relaunched to further enhance quality and drive consistency across the brand portfolio. All references associated with X2 and X2 Vibe brand name and logo shall reflect the new identity. Cross Hotels & Resorts will continue to drive excellence in comprehensive hospitality solutions as it crosses the globe with new and existing brands, and business proven practice to ensure all its partnerships are a successful collaboration. The group recently signed another hotel in Vietnam and a seven-hotel deal in Japan as well. X2 and X2 Vibe hotels that will be rebranded are: EXISTING NAME & EMAIL ADDRESS NEW NAME & EMAIL ADDRESS THAILAND X2 Kui Buri Cross Kui Buri book.kb@X2resorts.com stay@crosskuiburi.com X2 Koh Samui – A Spa Retreat Cross Koh Samui – A Spa Retreat book.ks@X2resorts.com stay@crosskohsamui.com X2 River Kwai Cross River Kwai book.rk@X2resorts.com stay@crossriverkwai.com X2 Chiang Mai Riverside Cross Chiang Mai Riverside book.cmr@X2resorts.com stay@crosschiangmairiverside.com X2 Pattaya Oceanphere Cross Pattaya Oceanphere book.por@X2residences.com stay@crosspattayaoceanphere.com X2 Hua Hin Le Bayburi Pranburi Villa Cross Hua Hin Le Bayburi Pranburi Villa book.bvh@X2villas.com stay@crosshuahinlebayburi.com X2 Chiang Mai North Gate Villa Cross Chiang Mai North Gate Villa book.ng@X2villas.com stay@crosschiangmainorthgate.com X2 Chiang Mai South Gate Villa Cross Chiang Mai South Gate Villa book.sg@X2villas.com stay@crosschiangmaisouthgate.com X2 Chiang Mai Nimman Villa Cross Chiang Mai Nimman Villa book.nm@X2villas.com …

Gujarat Tourism recently conducted a physical roadshow for the travel agents and tour operators of Madhya Pradesh. The event was held in Indore as well as Bhopal and was attended by RK Misha, Assistant Director, Director of Tourism, Deepika Roy Choudhary, Deputy Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism, along with Hemendra Singh Jadon, Chapter Chairman (MP-CG) of TAAI. Gujarat showcased its new and popular tourism products including the Statue of Unity and Champaner. Dholavira in Gujarat has also been recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.