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31/07/2020

31/07/2020

Africa reopening for tourism - Full List of countries

Many African nations are starting to reopen airports, remove curfews, and slowly resume international tourism. Most countries in Africa have been very strict on containing the spread of the virus, with most of them going into complete lockdowns earlier this year. That means nobody in and nobody out. Now that case numbers are relatively low across the continent, some nations have already reopened, with others making plans on how to reopen responsibly.

Below we have a list of every country in Africa, and what their current reopening status is: Not open for tourism, reopening soon, and now open. For the nations that have already reopened, we also include which countries are permitted to visit, plus any entry requirements.

1. Burkina Faso - Reopening Soon

Burkina Faso has made a statement about commercial flights resuming on August 1. Land and sea borders remain closed until further notice. It is unclear at this time if Visa issuing will also resume on August 1.

2. Cameroon - Reopening Soon

Cameroon has resumed a few commercial flights, though mostly for essential travel only. Land and sea borders are not yet open. They’ve started testing requirements to land in Cameroon airports for essential travelers, including a negative PCR test no older than 3 days.

3. Cape Verde - Reopening Soon

Cape Verde has reopened sea borders for essential travel by passenger ferries. International flights have not yet resumed but are planned to restart in early August.

4. Chad - Reopening Soon

Chad will resume commercial flights starting on August 1. All international travellers will be required to surrender their passport, quarantine at home for 7 days and take a COVID-19 test on the 7th day. Passports will be returned upon presentation of the COVID-19 negative test receipt.

5. Democratic Republic of the Congo - Reopening Soon

The DRC plans to start reopening land borders and airports on August 15. After reopening, visitors into the DRC will require negative PCR tests, temperature checks, and the possibility of testing and/or quarantines upon arrival.

6. Djibouti - Reopening Soon

On July 17, Djibouti reopened the airport and restarted limited commercial flights. We are unsure if these flights are restricted to repatriation and/or essential travel only at this point, or if general tourism is now permitted.

All passengers entering Djibouti will receive a covid test upon arrival and will have to remain at the airport until results come through (approx 4 hours), at the cost of the passenger.

7. Egypt - Now Open
Egypt started reopening borders for tourism to seaside resorts as of July 1.

Travelers will have to:

- Have a valid visa
- Wear a mask on the flight and in the airport
- Fill out a health declaration card
- Show proof of travel health insurance
- Agree to have their temperature taken on arrival
- At this point travelers are expected to remain in high-tourist areas and are not permitted to travel independently inwards throughout the country.

8. Equatorial Guinea - Reopening Soon

Equatorial Guinea is currently in their domestic reopening phase, with domestic flights resuming as of June 15. Commercial flights are extremely limited at this point and are mostly used for repatriation and essential travel. All arriving passengers must present a negative PCR test taken no longer than 48 hours before arrival.

9. Ethiopia - Now Open
Ethiopia has now reopened the airport for international arrivals.

Passengers will need to bring a negative PCR test taken within 5 days of arrival. They are also required to self-isolate at home for 14 days. Visitors are tested again upon arrival.

Passengers that do not bring the negative PCR test will have a mandatory quarantine at government designated hotels for 7 days at their own expense. At the end of 7 days, a PCR test will be given.

10.Ghana - Reopening Soon

Ghana has resumed domestic flights within the country. The current international travel ban is set to expire July 31. We are unsure at this time if the ban will be extended or removed.

11. Kenya - Now Open

President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that Kenya will be reopening for international tourism on August 1st, 2020

Entry Requirements include bringing a negative PCR test, but the details of how long the traveler has to take the test before arrival has not yet been released.

12. Liberia - Now Open

Liberia has reopened for tourism as of July 1, but many restrictions are still in place. When they first opened they had a rule that if a passenger was coming from a nation with more than 200 active cases of the virus, they would be denied entry. Now, we believe that restriction has been removed and replaced with testing requirements.

Passengers arriving into Liberia will need to bring a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours, undergo a temperature scan and health check, and could be tested again upon arrival. Anyone testing positive on arrival will be put into government quarantine for at least 14 days.

13. Mali - Reopening Soon

Mali just reopened flights on July 25 and is planning on reopening land borders on July 31st. It is unclear at this time if flights are reserved for Mali nationals, or if tourists can also enter at this time.

Arrivals need to bring a negative PCR test within 72 hours of arrival. If they do not, a test will be performed on arrival while the passenger will remain in quarantine until results are processed.

14. Morocco - Reopening Soon

The current state of emergency was extended until August 10th. The partial reopening of Morocco’s borders started July 14, first to allow Moroccan residents to return and foreign citizens to depart the country.

While general tourism has not yet resumed, the reopening date is expected to be announced soon.

15. Nigeria - Reopening Soon

Nigeria reopened their passport offices July 1 and resumed domestic flights on July 8. Restrictions on domestic travel continue to lift. While international flights are currently only available for nationals and residents, announcements are expected to be made soon on the resumption of tourism.

16. Rwanda - Now Open

Rwanda has officially reopened for tourism as of June 17, 2020

Entry Requirements:
Testing is required before arrival and again upon arrival. In order to gain entry into Rwanda as a tourist, you must take a PCR test in your own country within 72 hours of departure and have the negative results as proof. The negative test must be emailed to [email protected] before your departure and a copy of the results brought with you to show customs upon entry into Rwanda.

At the airport upon arrival, travelers will be tested again with the results available in around 8 hours.

17. Senegal - Now Open

Senegal has now reopened for tourism, with entry requirements explained below. Senegal reopened international flights on July 15, even though land and sea borders are still closed. The state of emergency was lifted on June 30.

All arrivals into Senegal will require:

- A health declaration form
- A negative PCR test taken no longer than 7 days before departure
- Undergo medical screening and temperature scans upon arrival

18. Seychelles - Now Open

As of June 1st the Seychelles have reopened to tourists from ‘low’ and ‘medium’ risk nations, with different entry requirements for each category.

19. Sierra Leone - Now Open

Sierra Leone reopened for tourism on July 22, 2020. Flights are starting to be rescheduled, but land borders remain closed.

Entry Requirements:

- Obtaining a travel authorization card from the government
- A negative PCR test taken no longer than 72 hours before departure
- A health declaration card
- Pre-payment for testing on arrival
- A valid visa

20 Sudan - Reopening Soon

Sudan just lifted bans on flights from Egypt, Turkey, and the UAE, but flights from other nations are still suspended until October 10.

21. Tanzania - Now Open

As of June 2020, Tanzania is now accepting tourists under normal and regular ‘pre-covid’ border rules. No mandatory quarantine period is currently in place, however temperature checks, mask wearing, and social distancing is in effect.

However, under normal tourism laws, your country might require a Visa to enter Tanzania. There are currently 68 countries that can enter Tanzania Visa-free, with the rest requiring a Visa or Visa on Arrival.

There is no mandatory 14-day isolation or quarantine period for travellers into Tanzania.

22. Tunisia - Now Open

Tunisia is officially reopening its borders June 27, 2020 allowing tourists to enter based on a color-coded system based on risk assessment.

Tunisia has created a ‘Green’ and ‘Orange’ list for arrivals. ‘Green’ countries may enter with no testing or quarantines, while ‘Orange’ countries will need to present a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure. (See the lists here)

23. Zambia - Reopening Soon

Zambia’s borders have reopened, with both domestic and international flights starting to resume, but tourist visa services remain suspended until further notice. Since a tourist visa is required to gain entry into Zambia, general tourism cannot resume until they restart visa services.

Anyone the currently has a valid visa may be granted entry, but will face both testing on arrival and 14-day quarantine.

31/07/2020

SpiceJet to operate its first long haul flight on Aug 1

SpiceJet will operate its first long-haul flight from Amsterdam on August 1 to repatriate Indians “waiting” to come from Europe, the airline said on Monday. Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, special international charter flights are permitted on a case to case basis by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

“SpiceJet will operate its first long-haul flight to bring back Indians waiting to come from Europe. 1st flight departs from Amsterdam on Aug 1. Limited seats available,” the airline said on Twitter. An industry source said the low-cost carrier has “wet-leased” an A330neo wide-body aircraft from a foreign company to operate these long-haul flights to and from Europe.
“The flight will leave from Schiphol airport at Amsterdam at 2.45 PM (local time) on August 1 and will land at Bengaluru at 3.30 AM (local time) on August 2. After disembarking Bengaluru’s passengers, the flight will then head to Hyderabad where it is scheduled to land at 5.35 AM on August 2,” a SpiceJet official said .

In a “wet leased” arrangement, the lessor provides the plane along with its cabin crew, cockpit crew and maintenance crew. A “dry lease” means the lessor will provide the plane only. Since a wide-body plane has a bigger fuel tank, it can operate long-haul flights. Till now, SpiceJet operated only narrow-body Boeing 737s and turboprop Q400 aircraft. India resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

Indian airlines have been permitted to operate a maximum of 45 per cent of pre-COVID domestic flights. However, the occupancy rate has remained low domestically at around 50-60 per cent.

31/07/2020

Haridwar to get theme park based on 52 Shaktipeeth temples of India

Uttarakhand government has decided to build a theme park based on the 52 shaktipeeth of India. According to a report published by a popular website, the state government has selected a 10 ha plot in Haridwar’s Kankhal area to accomplish this purpose.

News has it that the concept of constructing a religious theme park having the replicas of 52 shakti temples of India is meant to promote tourism in the holy city and also spread knowledge about these devi shrines among those who have not had the chance to visit all of them.

Reportedly, a plot of land in a village near Shri Daksheshwar Mahadev temple in Kankhal has been chosen for the theme park. The process of getting sanctioned for land clearance and obtaining no-objection certificate has started for the same.

By making this one-of-its-kind theme park, the state government wants to develop tourist sites in each of the 13 districts of Uttarakhand.

According to the old scriptures, shaktipeeth temples have been built at those sites where the body parts of Sati, the wife of Lord Shiva, had fallen when Lord Vishnu cut her charred body with his discus. It is also said that these temple sites have been sanctified by the powerful penance of the ancient saints and seers.

Haridwar has been in the news since the past few months either for the sparkling clean Ganga river water during the India-wide lockdowns or for the lightning that struck the famous Har-ki-Paudi ghat in the town.

31/07/2020

Rannotsav to be held from mid-November

Ahmedabad: Craving for a getaway in 2020? Well, the state government will soon add some silver lining to the hopes of travellers! Gujarat’s signature tourism festival, Rannotsav, which is held every year from November to February, will be held this year too. At a time when tourism industry has seen a drastic decline in bookings, the state government is all geared up to host the festival, revealed sources, from mid-November onwards till February-end.

“The government will soon make an official announcement about the festival which is expected to begin in mid-November and bookings will shortly open. The tent city is being readied to welcome tourists under a new normal and we are taking all precautions to ensure social distancing and utmost hygiene is maintained. We are also reorganizing the dining space, where more people congregate and spacing it out and have deployed additional buses which will only ferry tourists at half the capacity or less,” said Nikhil Aggarwal, partner of the event management company which organizes Rannotsav.

The annual festival attracted at least 50,000 tourists last season, including people from Gujarat and other parts of India, NRIs who visit their home state during the winter months and even a few foreign nationals. The organizers have slashed package prices to woo tourists. “We have reduced the package price across categories by 20% to encourage more tourists to visit the festival. We have not reduced itinerary but have worked on ensuring social distancing and safety of tourists in the wake of the pandemic,” said Aggarwal.

Industry sources, however, said the footfall may take a hit by at least 30% in the wake of the pandemic and even a likely reduction in number of international travellers. Tour operators however, feel that the decision to hold the festival will help revive tourism in the state.

31/07/2020

UAE is officially the most popular travel destination for 2021

If you’re planning any travel around the UAE next year, we suggest booking in advance as the country is expected to get an influx of tourists.

According to a survey conducted by global travel company Kuoni, UAE has topped the ‘world’s most searched destination for 2021’ in 11 countries. The firm looked at Google’s global data from 131 countries, with the spokesperson commenting that all of the seven emirates offer the perfect winter escape.

“Each of the seven emirates has its own characteristics, but they’re all an excellent destination for some winter sun,” Kuoni said.

“Dubai has a futuristic style with soaring skyscrapers, epic shopping malls and long stretches of beach, Fujairah has some incredible snorkelling spots and Ras Al Khaimah draws beach lovers to its beautiful coastline.”

We couldn’t agree more. Other top destinations that made the list include Egypt, Canada and the USA.

The global pandemic has had a significant impact on UAE tourism this year, with travel for leisure only reinstated on July 7. However, many feel that the numerous unique activities on offer for will entice many more holidaymakers to visit next year.

“The success of the tourism sector in the UAE has been a model for many countries to follow. The UAE tops the list of the most attractive countries on the world map for tourism, due to the great infrastructure, array of entertainment offerings and its unparalleled tourism attractions,” Mamoun Hmedan, managing director for Mena and India, Wego, told Khaleej Times.

31/07/2020

Odisha tourism plans to promote Road trips post Covid-19

The tourism department is looking to better the tourism situation in Odisha post COVID-19, and so the road trip campaign is going to be a major breakthrough in this regard. As rail and air transport are severely affected because of Covid-19, Odisha tourism is planning to promote road trips in Odisha.

The campaign called Road Trip To and Through Odisha, will be promoted if the situation looks better by October this year. The tourism department is looking to better the tourism situation in Odisha post-COVID-19, and so the road trip campaign is going to be a major breakthrough in this regard.

According to the state tourism secretary Vishal Dev’s statement, bordering states such as West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh would be targeted. So, tourists from Ranchi, Kolkata, Raipur, Visakhapatnam, Bilaspur, Jamshedpur, and Bilaspur are going to be invited for road trips to Odisha. There`s also going to be some attractive packages for these travellers.

31/07/2020

Nepal to reopen Everest to climbers despite coronavirus case rise

Nepal will reopen its Himalayan mountains including Mount Everest to climbers for the autumn season, officials said on Thursday, to boost the tourism-dependent economy despite rising coronavirus infections.

Home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, Nepal shut down climbing and trekking in March to stem the novel coronavirus, which has so far infected 19,547 people and caused 52 deaths in the country of 30 million.

"We have reopened mountaineering and will issue climbing permits for the autumn season," tourism department official Mira Acharya said, adding that climbers must follow health protocols issued by the government. The autumn climbing season in Nepal runs from September to November.

While infections in many Western nations are falling, South Asian countries including Nepal are still witnessing a steady rise in the caseload. The absence of climbing in the popular April-May season caused Nepal millions of dollars in losses. Hundreds of foreign travellers and some 200,000 sherpas, guides and porters were hit.

Though the government now wants to reopen climbing, international flights are shut until mid-August and travel restrictions within Nepal remain, meaning climbers will still be kept away in the short term, expedition organisers said.

"Some climbers to smaller mountains may come but I have doubts about big ones," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, an expedition organiser in the capital Kathmandu.

Nepal on Thursday also allowed the reopening of hotels and restaurants with some restrictions. No conferences, seminars, gyms or casinos would be allowed, said Binayak Shah, vice president of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN)."Now it is (about) which hotel is safe, not which offers better services," Shah said.

31/07/2020

WB govt extends restriction on flights to Kolkata from six cities till Aug 15

The Kolkata airport has announced extension on restrictions of flights arriving in Kolkata from six cities--Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur, and Ahmedabad, till August 15 in view of rising COVID-19 cases in the city.

"The restriction on arriving flights to Kolkata Airport from 6 cities viz Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur & Ahmedabad has been extended up to 15th August 2020," Kolkata Airport tweeted. Earlier, on July 17, flight operations to Kolkata from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur, and Ahmedabad were suspended on the request of West Bengal government till July 31.

All these cities are COVID-19 hotspots and have reported the highest number of cases in the country. The West Bengal government had earlier announced a ban on a passenger flight to Kolkata from these cities from July 6 to July 19.

IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara, and Air India are some of the affected airlines due to the ban. On Thursday, West Bengal reported 46 COVID-19 fatalities, increasing the death toll to 1,536. The number of active cases stood at 19,900. The discharge/recovery rate stood at 68.33%.

16/07/2020

Post Covid, Kerala tourism is all set to go local

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KOCHI: The exponentially increasing Covid-19 cases continue to badly affect the tourism and hospitality industry. The first to be comprehensively affected, the sector is also expected to be the last to revive, owing to the nature of the pandemic.With no hope of international tourists arriving anytime soon, travel and tourism bodies in the state have leaned towards domestic and local tourism -- identifying unexplored places in the state, encouraging and generating interest in the same among Malayalis and offering the same experiences at lower rates -- thereby sustaining the distressed sector.

‘Keralam Kaanam’ is one such initiative by the Association of Tourism and Trade Organisation of India (ATTOI). It solely focuses on Malayalis in the state to restart tourism. “There are luxury hotels, houseboats and destinations that Malayalis are unaware. Under this scheme, hotels offer competitive and considerably lower rates. These uncharted gems will be marketed via local people. The website malayaliyathra.com in itself is in Malayalam. We have around 80 hotels and 23 agents to choose from. Earlier, several of these resorts fell under the expensive leisure travel and primarily catered to foreign tourists.

With ‘Keralam Kaanam’, we intend to change it and provide a tailor-made experience and affordable price to our people,” said P V Manu, secretary, ATTOI.Manu highlighted that the demand for the initiative will be high owing to the considerable number of people who’re strapped in their houses, yearning to travel. The scheme also aims to lure newly-married couples, he added. While the scheme is readied and everything is in place, ATTOI awaits the government’s nod to kickstart the same.

“Initially, the plan was to open these tourist destinations by July. However, the increasing number of Covid cases is a dampener. Regardless, we prefer commencing marketing only if the state has arrived at a stable situation to handle cases, else the chances of an uncontrollable community spread are high,” he said.Rupesh Kumar, state coordinator, Responsible Tourism Mission, stressed the importance of regional tourism. “Once the pandemic and the number of cases have subsided, we will commence projects such as ‘Experience Kerala with Your Family’ for Keralites and ‘Learning Experiences’, as part of responsible tourism at discounted rates.

We require tourism programmes that allow an extended period of stay unlike mass tourism destinations like beaches. ‘Learning Experiences’ will include culinary adventures, imbibing art and culture forms, martial arts and handicrafts and souvenir making. These experiences will be offered for a duration of from three months to one year. Simultaneously, unique unexplored destinations will be in the spotlight,” he explained.

The state coordinator acknowledged that the pandemic and subsequent lockdown saw a loss of `6.15 crore across around 18,000 registered RT units. This is after the RT units saw a revenue of `28 crore in the 2019-20 financial year. But, Bala Kiran, director of Kerala Tourism, said that the state now has adopted a wait and watch policy on opening tourist destinations or marketing new schemes for domestic tourists. “Currently, we’re getting ready with creatives for the marketing campaigns, so when the tourism season is officially open, we can begin campaigning,” he said.

16/07/2020