In view of Expo 2020 Dubai, which is scheduled to starts from 01st Oct 2021, Dr. Ahmed Albanna, the Ambassador of UAE to India notified that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has eased off procedures and coronavirus protocols for Indians, entering the country. This will be valid for visitors with tourist visas or work visas. They have devised a mechanism to expedite the issuing of visas to all foreigners to visit the Dubai Expo. Expo 2020 coincides with the UAE’s 50th anniversary in 2021, marking an important milestone for the UAE.

With services expected to start by December from the new ferry jetty at Sentosa Cove village, reaching Southern islands from Sentosa will be a stone’s throw away. From December, a new series of sustainability tours will be launched, that will take tourists to the southern islands, through the unique heritage, biodiversity and nature of the Sentosa along with surrounding islands, as per the media release by the Sentosa Development Corporation(SDC). Tourists to the Southern islands, St John’s and Lazarus island, can expect “low-carbon leisure experiences”, along with bicycle tours, boutique camping and food delivered to them via drones. This is part of the endeavour to transform Singapore into a sustainable tourism destination and make it a carbon-neutral destination by 2030.

Recently, an interaction session with Gujarat Tourism was held in Delhi, where the new developments and new places to visit in Gujarat were showcased in video presentations. A presentation on tourist’s facilities, monuments, national parks and other attractions were presented. Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, said that they are seeking an approval from the Gujarat government and proposing to have the IATO convention in Gujarat in December.

Kerala Tourism Department launched its mobile app which ensures a hassle-free travel for tourists coming to Kerala and giving them an opportunity to discover unexplored attractions themselves and record their impressions during the visit. It provides all information about destinations at finger tips. It identifies unexplored destinations in all panchayats in Kerala and will help attract local tourist spots to grab global attention.

For the second consecutive year, the Goa government has reduced beach shack fees by 50 per cent due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. This was announced by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at a cabinet briefing on Thursday. Depending on the size and location, a shack operator has to pay licence fee of upto one lakh rupees.Hopefully, the reduction in the fee would help shack operators make ends meet.

The new Team TAFI India had its first National Joint Council (NJC) meeting on 04 September at the Gift City Club Gandhinagar – Gujarat. The National Managing Committee and the Chapter Chairmen & Secretaries from all 11 Chapters were present. TAFI President Ajay Prakash rendered a traditional welcome to Shri Jenu Devan, MD & Commissioner of Gujarat Tourism. He shared his vision of a reviving travel and tourism industry as vaccinations picked up pace and the epidemic receded.

Thomas Cook India has inaugurated a new Gold Circle Partner franchise outlet in Bengaluru. This expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in Karnataka to 17 consumer access centres: 7 owned branches and 10 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets across Bengaluru, Hubli, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Udupi, Shimoga and Gulbarga.

The government keeps September 15 as the deadline to receive financial bids for Air India. Despite the pandemic and changes to the share purchase agreement to accommodating the queries of the bidders, the government is hoping to achieve the critical milestone of financial bids. Speculations are for more than two bidders, though no confirmation from the government.

Principle Secretary of Rajasthan Tourism, Gayatri Rathore states “At a time when tourism has been the worst-affected sector amid COVID, things have improved here. In fact, better than in previous years. Udaipur has recorded maximum tourist footfall in 10 years. Occupancy rate (in hotels) has gone up, especially on weekends in destinations bordering other states.” The state had become a monsoon getaway and de-stressing point in COVID times. Things have improved in Udaipur.

M. Mathiventhan, Tourism Minister, Tamil Nadu, has announced a new master plan to improve the infrastructure of 300 tourist sites, and to develop a tourism policy. He said that a tourism destination development scheme is to be designed for the development of tourism sites, which includes, adventure sites, and eco-tourism sites. They will develop helipads for helicopter services in Rameswaram, Madurai, and Kodaikanal.