According to Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Sri Lanka will re-open for tourists by early 2021 with caution and necessary protocols regularly reviewed by Ministry of Health (MOH). When Sri Lanka does re-open it will be for travellers from around the globe and they must abide by the following visa requirements. Evidence of a negative PCR Covid 19 test 72 hours before arrival, be tested again upon arrival, a third test to be carried out on day 7. All travellers must commit to a minimum stay of 14 days in the country and apply for an online visa. The Sri Lankan government has stated that all countries and nationalities are welcome to visit when they re-open for tourists. There will be no quarantine period if travellers follow all testing entry requirements, however if they are tested positive upon arrival, they will have to immediately report to the relevant authority.

Day 5 at Russian Expo Days (RED) would allow participants to attend live sessions on Samara and Krasnodar regions and presentation by Krasnaya Polyana Resort presents holidays in the mountains. At 12pm IST, one can watch webinar titled ‘Discover the amazing nature of the Samara region’ allowing the participants to learn about cruises along the Volga river, national parks and a lot of events and festivals. At 2:30pm IST, watch the webinar titled ‘Travelling to the south of Russia’ and learn about mountains, sea, delicious food, world famous Sochi and more wonderful things for tourists in the Krasnodar region. Watch Krasnaya Polyana Resort presents holidays in the mountains near Sochi at 4:30pm IST, and learn about accommodation and activities for Indian tourists. Watching all sessions live would allow them to win a fam trip to Krasnaya Polyana Resort in Sochi. Register for free at russiadays.travel. Register for free at russiadays.travel.

Ministry of Tourism has appreciated Vasuki K. Sundaram, Chairperson, IATO Maharashtra Chapter, on twitter for her positive feedback on her recent trip to Shirdi, where she mentions that her experience was great in the temple without crowds, social distancing maintained, hotels adhering to compliances, and she pointed out that the wayside amenities on her way back to Mumbai were clean. MOT, in their tweet shared a video of Sundaram saying that it shows the idea of Dekho Apna Desh being executed thoroughly.

The government has proposed to sell up to 20% of its stake in IRCTC through an Offer for Sale (OFS) which opens for subscription on Thursday. “Offer for Sale in IRCTC opens tomorrow for Non Retail investors. Day 2 for retail investors. The government would divest 15 percent equity with a 5 percent green shoe option,” said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in a tweet. As of September 30, the government had held an 87.40 stake in IRCTC which went public last year. To meet SEBI’s public holding norm, the government has to lower its stake in the company to 75%.

Consortium led by Murari Lal Jalan and Kalrock Capital has announced the revival of Jet Airways as a full-service carrier. The Jet 2.0 program is aimed at reviving the past glory of Jet Airways, with a fresh set of processes and systems to ensure greater efficiency. As per the resolution plan, Jet Airways intends to operate all of its historic domestic slots in India and restart international operations. Jet Airways will be back in the skies by summer of 2021 provided it receives NCLT and regulatory approvals on time.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Vistara have signed a Commercial Cooperation Framework Agreement, which is an extension of a codeshare partnership that was established in 2017. Taking it a step forward, the new agreement would allow both airlines to achieve further synergies on services between Singapore and India, as well as in the key regions of South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. JoAnn Tan, Acting Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, Singapore Airlines, said: “By bolstering our partnership, Singapore Airlines and Vistara are able to work together to provide additional options for our customers. It also reflects the importance of the Indian market to Singapore Airlines, as well as our commitment to grow our network in the coming years.” Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara said: “We are thrilled to further strengthen our partnership with Singapore Airlines. The intent is reflective of our deep-rooted commitment to providing our customers the finest and the most convenient way to fly across the world with the consistency of a five-star travel experience. This is in line with our long-term growth plan of expanding Vistara’s global presence and presenting India’s best airline to the world.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines  in cooperation with Department of Tourism & National Commission for Culture and Arts have launched “Fiesta Filipinas: An Online Celebration of Philippine Festivals”, a 6-part, multi-format online event series from December 2020 until May 2021, which will simulate the experience of a festival through a combination of live and pre-recorded videos and live workshops and activities. The project aims to introduce and showcase Philippine festivals, culture, and traditions to our global audience and invite them to the country when conditions are more favorable.

The two-day Virtual Spanish Travel Show concluded successfully with more than 1,300 buyers from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh interact with 20 Spanish exhibitors. Spain’s first-ever virtual roadshow witnessed more than 3,200 one-to-one meetings take place between travel agents and tour operators, and suppliers that included regional tourism boards, hotels and DMCs.

Sunil C Gupta, Chapter Chairman, IATO -Northern Region, has said that the construction of Agra Metro Project, inaugurated by the Prime Minister, would make many monuments like Sikandra and Rambagh accessible to tourists. “There are a lot of tourists—both domestic and international coming to Agra. The Agra Metro for the first time connects the monuments of Agra and especially monuments alike Sikandra and Rambagh, which due to traffic congestion, distance and time taken to travel to these monuments were not being visited. Now the tourists will be able to easily visit these monuments. The Metro will also ease the traffic. This metro is going to be world-class and will be better than the ones in Lucknow and Noida,” he said.

India Tourism Kolkata, Regional Office (East), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India celebrated the Constitution Day, led by the Regional Director (East) followed by a brief discussion on the salient features of the Indian Constitution.