October 2020
October 2020
Dear Friends, Guests, Patrons and Partners in Travel,
Namaste!
I hope this message finds you in the best of health and spirits!
As India just celebrated the birth-anniversary of Gandhi on the 2nd of October, we at Far Horizon bring to light yet another strong personality who played a vital role in shaping the history of our rich country and who shares the same date of birth as Mahatma Gandhi, but his rich contributions have been buried deep into the annals of history. The man is none other but Lal Bahadur Shastri (2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966), the second Prime Minister of India. He promoted the White Revolution and the Green Revolution to make the country strong in Milk and Food supply. He worked for the betterment of the Harijans at Muzaffarpur and dropped his caste-derived surname of "Srivastava".
Shastri's thoughts were influenced by reading about Swami Vivekananda, Gandhi and Annie Besant. In his first broadcast as Prime Minister, on 11 June 1964, Shastri stated: "There comes a time in the life of every nation when it stands at the cross-roads of history and must choose which way to go. But for us, there need be no difficulty or hesitation, no looking to right or left. Our way is straight and clear—the building up of a socialist democracy at home with freedom and prosperity for all, and the maintenance of world peace and friendship with all nations. "
Here’s wishing you all the very best, always.
Anjali Babbar
CEO
COVID 19: India fights back with recovery rate at 86.4 per cent
While India has been reporting a massive surge in its coronavirus cases, the number of recoveries also continue to see a surge with the country's health minister claiming that India's recovery rate is one of the best in the world. Out of the total 71.20 Lakh coronavirus cases in India, 61.49 Lakh have recovered. Presently, there are about 8.61 Lakh active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 12.10 per cent of the total caseload. The coronavirus case fatality rate has declined to 1.8 per cent, while the recovery rate has risen to 83.5 per cent. Expressing confidence over India's efforts in developing a coronavirus vaccine, the Health Minister said that the Indian scientists are working very hard to develop a vaccine and provide it to the world. "Out of the three vaccine candidates, one has entered the third phase of trials. We are confident that within this year we will provide the world with an effective vaccine to save the people," he said.
Indian Mountaineering Foundation proposes opening 405 peaks for adventure tourism
With tourism being the last industry to recover post pandemic damage, avenues in adventure and wildlife are abound wherein travel is a possibility - within safe and large expanses of nature . A welcome step in that direction with the opening of 137 new peaks for mountaineering, the Indian Mountaineering Foundation has also proposed opening 405 new peaks in the Himalayan area to promote mountaineering and provide a boost to adventure tourism in the country.
Keen to promote mountaineering and boost India’s tourism prospects as an adventure tourism destination, Union minister of state for tourism and culture, Mr. Prahlad Singh Patel, held a review meeting with nodal institutions of mountaineering and adventure tourism. The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) also gave a presentation on adventure tourism activities.
Representatives of the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, National Institute of Water Sports and Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering also participated in the meeting. During the meeting, the tourism minister reviewed various activities for promotion of adventure tourism in India. While reviewing the activities, Mr. Patel said that India has a great potential in mountaineering and we should promote mountaineering in our country.
Mumbai airport rolls out contactless check-in system for passengers
Every industry is adapting in ways to ensure that life post India’s unlock, while returning to its normal pace is still safe for citizens. To facilitate with safe traveling, Mumbai airport has put in place a QR code-enabled contactless check-in mechanism for the passengers, which allows them the use of their mobile phones to remotely operate check-in and self-bag drop kiosks for printing boarding passes and bag tags.
Passengers at Mumbai airport just need to scan the QR code shown on the kiosks to access a remote keyboard and mouse on their mobile device, without touching the kiosks, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said in a release.
“With the focus on passenger convenience, the new contactless technology has been developed in response to the rapidly changing passenger requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are working on enhancing passenger experience through the adoption of newer technologies that can be easily adapted by all,” said MIAL Chief Executive Officer Mr. Rajeev Jain.
The airport operator said it has taken several initiatives, even before the corona virus pandemic, to enhance self-reliance of the passengers and promote a seamless airport journey through the introduction of innovative technologies.
The technologies include common use self-service check-in kiosks, self-baggage drop counters, and e-gates that allow passengers to scan their boarding pass to proceed to security check.
Odisha to start river cruises to boost tourism
Odisha is one such destination that rewards those who make the effort to stray off the beaten track with a fascinating tribal culture, pristine natural beauty and an intricate patchwork of archaeological wonders. To counter the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry, Odisha Chief Secretary, Mr. Asit Tripathy has directed the Department of Tourism to start river cruise in the state while also encouraging the department to explore more possibilities of innovative tourism activities.
Mr. Asit Tripathy stated, “River cruising itself is compatible with Covid-19 restrictions. There is a huge scope and latent market for world Class River cruising in Odisha. It can also be connected with many eco-spots and refill the economic activities in the sector.” He also outlined the issues and presented about the three principal river cruise circuits can be developed in the state. These are river Mahanadi, Chilika Lake and Dangmala reserve forest including the national water way -5 from Dhamara to Paradeep.
Bhitarkanika circuit can connect the spots like Chandbali- Aradi-Dhamara-Khola and other spots in Bhitarkanika. This circuit has the scope of a comfortable 5 nights and 6 days cruise. Chilika circuit can connect Chilika, Kalijai-Nalabana-Honeymoon island-Mangalajodi-Satapada-Rajhans island-Satapada and Puri. The same could be ideal for a 3 nights and 4 days cruise.
Taj Mahal reopened on September 21
World heritage sites Taj Mahal and Agra Fort opened for visitors on September 21, after six months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, only 5,000 tourists would be allowed at the Taj and 2,500 at Agra Fort daily. Earlier, Taj used to see a footfall of up to 80,000 people a day, and the Agra Fort was visited by almost 30,000 people daily during weekends.
Agra district magistrate Prabhu N Singh said that masks will be mandatory for all visitors at all times and thermal screening would be conducted at the gates. He added that the hotel industry will have to be more cautious as Covid cases are still raising across the nation.
“All arrangements have already been made at these monuments as per the culture and health ministries’ guidelines,” said ASI superintending archeologist (Agra circle) Vasant K Swarnkar, adding that entry tickets will be issued by e-mode only and ticket windows will remain shut. However, QR code standees at the East and West gates of the monument will be available for booking entry tickets by scanning the code.
United announces new direct flights to India
United Airlines will be adding two new routes to India. Beginning December 2020, the airline will be introducing a new daily non-stop service between Chicago and New Delhi, for the first time ever. And starting summer 2021, passengers will be able to fly non-stop between San Francisco and Bengaluru. The airline’s newly-announced international routes are subject to government approval.
With these new routes, United will offer more non-stop service to India than any other US carrier, together with the airline’s existing services from New Delhi and Mumbai to New York/Newark and New Delhi to San Francisco. “These new nonstop services will strengthen our international route network and provide our customers from India with even greater travel choice and the possibility to connect via our hubs to destinations across the Americas,” said Marcel Fuchs, United’s Managing Director – International Sales. “By introducing the first-ever nonstop service between the two international technology hubs, Bengaluru and San Francisco, we are proud to open up new opportunities for both business and leisure travellers,” Fuchs added.
United’s new services from New Delhi to Chicago and Bengaluru to San Francisco will be operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
With these two non-stop services, the airline will also build on its existing service to New Delhi and Mumbai. Chicago has the second highest population of Indian-Americans in the United States, while the service from San Francisco to Bengaluru connects two international technology hubs, broadening United’s west coast service to India, which also includes San Francisco to New Delhi.
Charter airlines from Russia, UK apply for landing slots in Goa
The Covid-19 pandemic has done little to diminish Goa’s allure as an international tourist destination, with Russian and British charter airlines already approaching the Union ministry of civil aviation and the Airports Authority of India for permission to land in the coming months.
According to sources, Moscow’s Royal Flight and TUI have shown keen interest in bringing tourists to Goa on chartered flights beginning from October 26.
“Royal Flights has requested for 169 slots from October 26 and TUI is asking for three to five slots per week,” said an official, adding that the Centre would decide on the slots. Though India has travel arrangements with a handful of countries, including UK, scheduled international flights have not been permitted.
In Goa, the Covid curve is yet to show any signs of flattening with cases continuing to rise by 500-600 per day. Though chief minister Pramod Sawant permitted the tourism sector to open up in July, the percentage of tourists visiting the state is in single digits. The government has also lifted all restrictions on entry into the state with testing or quarantine no longer mandatory.
The state depends on tourism to keep its economy running and the arrival of charter flights, which make up the bulk of Goa’s foreign tourist arrivals, will provide a boost to the local economy, said a state government official.
Meghalaya to develop tourism circuit
The Meghalaya government is working on a program to develop a tourism circuit in the South West Khasi Hills district, to help tap the potential of the state as a major tourism destination. Talking about the government’s plan for tourism development in the state, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that they have been working to study the potential of different areas to help create assets and amenities to facilitate tourism.
The chief minister also tweeted, “From its lovely green hills to its monoliths, from the beautiful weather to its hot springs, the South West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya has so much to offer. Our plan to develop the tourism circuit will add value to the immense potential of the district.”
While visiting the Jakrem Hot Spring, which is believed to have curative medicinal properties, Sangma mentioned that the hot spring, which is a popular tourism attraction, is also part of the state’s tourism development master plan for South-West Khasi Hill district.
