Vol. XXXIII Issue 07; April 1st fortnight i­­ssue 2021 A DDP PUBLICATION Pages : 28 ` 20/- com ddppl.com TravTalkIndia. Scan & Share Air Seychelles resumes Mumbai Ops ....08 Should India adopt IATA Travel Pass? ... 16 Vaccine efficacy making people wait ..... 13 Indians can now fly direct to Maafaru ... 20 NE trade to aid MOT shows new side Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, MOT, says that Nepal Tourism Board, in its bid to changing the perception of they have constituted a committee of stakeholders who will be the country as a pilgrimage and mountain destination, is now instrumental in promoting the Northeast region. offering everything from freshwater beaches to great nightlife. Nisha Verma infrastructure that the govern- Nisha Verma to know. “While Indians relate ment has put in, we have cre- Nepal to Pashupatinath, even he newly-constituted ated a small dedicated group of delegation from in that segment we have other committee of stake- people to work in the Northeast. Nepal Tourism Board religious sites that are lined up Tholders in the North- We brought in people who would A(NTB), headed by with the Mahabharata Circuit, east met for the first time and help us craft itineraries and small Dr Dhananjay Regmi, Chief Ramayana Circuit, Shiva-Shakti deliberated on a strategy to promotional campaigns for the Executive Officer, NTB, recently Circuit, as well as the Buddhist promote tourism in the region. Northeast, in the months to met the travel trade in India. circuit. If we focus on inter- Chaired by Rupinder Brar, the come,” she says. Speaking on the purpose of their linked packages, we can en- meeting was held on March 19 trip, Regmi said that there is a hance the relationship between at Radisson Blu Guwahati. “The Domestic gets boost lot more to Nepal than being a Nepal and India,” he believes. Northeast region of the country Brar adds that there has been pilgrimage destination and this But, he realises that Indian is a relatively lesser-explored similar interest in Jammu & is precisely what they want the tourists cannot be attracted by Rupinder Brar Dr Dhananjay Regmi region and given the thrust on ADG, Ministry of Tourism Contd on page 6 Indian travel trade and travellers Chief Executive Officer, NTB Contd on page 6 Travel post vaccine Better insurance cover? Industry stakeholders share their view Do insurance companies need to hone their products to meet the changing traveller on how, if at all, COVID vaccination will demand for a better insurance cover? Travel agents say yes, along with better product change the way people travel. knowledge for more clarity. I believe that what WTTC is also say- ing is that once you have been vaccinated Hazel Jain way to protect their clients. But, if they test positive in a foreign ucts. Even with training, the ever- and given a certificate, it should be good what is available in the market, country. Have insurance policies changing nature of the insurance enough to travel. There should be no need fter a year of pandem- especially now with vaccination adapted to this need by offering industry’s response to the pan- for a PCR test, so the government could ic-related challenges, in the picture? It is still possible medical evacuation or cover- demic has complicated the pro- allow that as an authenticated certificate. Atravel insurance has for clients to contract COVID-19 age for the 14-day quarantine? cess of choosing the right policy. These could be issued by different govern- become a topic of conversa- if they haven't been vaccinated Insurance companies need to Here’s what some agents and ments and be easily verified online. Once tion in the travel community, as and it’s still possible for them to ensure that travel agents receive service providers have to say. Rajiv Mehra that starts, they should allow e-visas. travel agents search for the best have to quarantine for 14 days regular training on different prod- Contd on page 6 President, IATO Contd on page 13 BULLETIN Domestic travel picks up in NE Domestic travel, and especially sustainable travel, is slowly picking up within Assam and the Northeast, with FITs booking anything from three to nine-night packages to destinations that don’t have too many COVID restrictions. Hazel Jain or at the entry point at Facilita- on different dates have taken a tion Centres at the respective day-long tour to such places or ith his finger on There are still states mentioned. He high- with a night’s stay through Koy- the pulse, Arijit restrictions in lights an interesting trend that eli Travels within Assam,” he WPurkayastha, Chapter he has noticed. “Local tourists says, adding, “They have actu- Chairman – North East, Asso- Arunachal, in Assam are opting for more ally avoided crowds at popular ciation of Domestic Tour Opera- localised destinations owing destinations during weekends, tors of India (ADTOI) and CEO, Meghalaya, to travel guidelines applicable and enjoyed the hidden gems Koyeli Tours & Travels, shares in Meghalaya. Shillong can – rural tourism with nutritious an insight on what’s happening Assam, Mizoram, be reached in a hop from Gu- tribal meals. We are therefore Nagaland wahati, where tourists have to hopeful that tourism will revive, nights to nine nights’ stay cov- ering either Assam and Megha- laya or Arunachal Pradesh or Tripura in the last couple of months with tourists coming from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and other metros,” he says. Arijit Purkayastha Chapter Chairman – North East, However, Purkayastha adds ADTOI and CEO, Koyeli Tours & Travels that there are still COVID re- strictions in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram on-ground in the Northeast and Nagaland (except Manipur region. According to him, do- and Tripura) where guests have stay mandatorily for one night albeit with a change. Families mestic and sustainable travel is to arrive with a COVID-negative and produce COVID-negative and FITs have started travelling slowly picking up within Assam RT-PCR report which is valid RT-PCR report. Now, local tour- with COVID-negative certificates and the Northeast. “This is evi- only if they were tested within ists from Assam are taking from other parts of the coun- dent from the fact that at Koyeli 72 hours and provide the CO- the services of tour operators try into this region. Northeast Travels itself, we have handled a VID-negative certificate at the within the state to venture the India is an ideal destination for few FIT tours ranging from three airport or the railway station unknown. Families from Assam repeat tourism." STATISTICS Vistara a top APAC carrier Initiatives of 102 airlines were evaluated across Asia Pacific, out of which nine airlines scored VIEWPOINT a Safe Travel Score of 4.0 or above – the highest ratio worldwide. Air China and Vistara are the top APAC full-service carriers with a Safe Travel Score of 4.1 out of 5 each. TT Bureau VID-19 Safety Protocols (98%) Can we afford to say no? and Traveler Convenience ven as airlines con- (100%) – which contribute to Today, all research carried out anywhere in the world tinue to struggle in the the Safe Travel Score. Emir- to understand how the travel and tourism sector can Elight of COVID-19, the ates falls slightly shy of Qatar truly rise from the ashes of a forlorn year points to need of the hour is to streamline Airways with a Safe Travel only one direction – that of governments and indus- passenger-centric COVID-19 Score of 4.4 in the same safety and health protocols month. Indian carrier Vistara tries collaborating to ensure that travel becomes worldwide. To achieve that, gov- came in at number eight with seamless. To achieve that on a global scale, it is but ernments and the aviation indus- a 4.1 score and the only Indian imperative that a globally-accepted set of protocols try at large are doubling down carrier to figure in the top 10. the concept of health passports. be adopted by all countries so that people are less Essentially, these ‘passports’ Indian carriers did much hesitant to travel to destinations of their choice. And prove travellers’ COVID-19 vac- better in the LCC while this may swell well for the travellers, countries cination status, and supported the month, it took the leap to with the independent health a score of 4.1 on the February must also realise that as the dynamics of competi- passes, could enable the means leaderboard. Air India came tion change in the new normal, those who have un- of ensuring safe travel. in at number seven with a derstood the dire need for such an affiliation will be score of 4. APAC carriers soar the first ones to recover and tide over the ill-effects Each airline is undertaking As far as the LCCs are con- Safe Travel Score, Worldwide of a devastating virus. WTTC has already introduced varied operational strategies to cerned, AirAsia and IndiGo Airlines, February 2021 the SafeTravels stamp that was created for travel- adjust to the new market reali- lead the LCC leaderboard with ties. Air China and Vistara are a Safe Travel Score of 4.0 Full-Service Country Safe Travel lers to recognise destinations and businesses which the top APAC full-service car- each. Three Indian airlines Carriers Score have adopted the SafeTravels health and hygiene riers with a Safe Travel Score made it to the top 10 list with Qatar Airways Qatar 4.5 standardised protocols. IATA, too, has introduced of 4.1 out of 5 each. Vistara IndiGo leading the way and Emirates UAE 4.4 was at heels with Air China on SpiceJet following close at the Travel Pass - a standardised solution to au- Etihad Airways UAE 4.3 the January 2021 leaderboard number three with a 3.9 score.