The total volume of local and international travel bookings for the anticipated Eid Al Fitr break is up by 195 percent so far in 2022…reports Asian Lite News
dnata Travel, the UAE’s longest-standing travel provider, has revealed that the total volume of local and international travel bookings for the anticipated Eid Al Fitr break is up by 195 percent so far in 2022, compared to overall bookings made throughout the same annual holiday period in 2021.
This year, the number of international travel bookings for the first Eid public holiday, expected in early May, have particularly increased with 65 percent of UAE travellers opting for worldwide destinations, and 35 percent opting for staycations. This is compared to 68 percent of travellers booking UAE staycations and 32 percent seeking international holidays, for the same holiday period in 2021.
The top five most-booked destinations for travel over the expected Eid Al Fitr holiday period in 2022 so far with dnata Travel in the UAE include the Maldives, UAE, Turkey, Mauritius and Oman.
Emily Jenkins, General Manager, dnata Travel Leisure, commented, “In 2021, UAE staycations and the Indian Ocean proved most popular for travellers from the UAE looking to take a well-deserved break over Eid Al Fitr. While these destinations remain ever-popular for travellers, this year, with more destinations opening we are seeing a broader range of travel options starting to trend, across Asia, Europe, and North America.
“The demand for travel is at a high as many countries are opening their borders to tourists once again, or relaxing, or removing COVID-19 related travel regulations, easing a passenger’s journey. Newly-opened and accessible, Bali and Singapore in particular are starting to gain traction, while Thailand is fast-climbing among our top ten most-booked destinations for Eid Al Fitr. The Maldives has remained the number one destination of choice with a spike in demand witnessed in early March due to removing its PCR-testing requirements for fully-vaccinated travellers.”
Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain has started to ramp up its operations to the State of India beginning with 49 weekly flights this month…reports Asian Lite News
As the summer season approaches, the airline announces that by mid-May, Gulf Air will increase its weekly flights to 75 which is more than 90% of its pre-pandemic schedule to India.
Commenting on this network restoration, Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi commented: “We are very excited to restore such an integral part of our airline’s operations. The national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain never stopped flying during the peak of the pandemic making it one of the most experienced and safest airlines to fly during these times, and today we are growing closer to our full network with some new additions coming online this summer such as Milan, Manchester and Rome. We are working on frequencies and connectivity to offer more choices and more convenience to our passengers and are confident that the months ahead will feature more milestones and success stories to tell”.
Gulf Air has been operating direct flights between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of India since 1960 and its network of Indian cities has always been key within the Gulf Air’s global network. Being one of the few airlines that continued scheduled commercial operations, Gulf Air continuously works closely with the governments authorities throughout the destinations on its network to resume its operations as pandemic restrictions ease and the aviation industry recovers. Updates are constantly added on gulfair.com/covid19 including travel advice, network and new health and safety procedures.
Being one of the few airlines that never stopped flying during the pandemic, Gulf Air has recently received the Skytrax Five Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating after a vigorous audit by Skytrax Research that took place between November and December 2021, in flying safely throughout the pandemic and enhancing its airport and onboard protocols to combat the spread of COVID-19. The airline also received APEX’s Five Star Major Official Airline Rating; an award based solely on certified passengers’ feedback.
UAE on Wednesday announced the updated travel protocol for unvaccinated citizens of the country, which will come into force on 19th April…reports Asian Lite News
The new protocol is in line with the UAE’s policy aimed at achieving sustainable recovery and the return to normalcy, Dr. Taher Al Ameri, official spokesman of the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA), said.
He noted that the updated protocol allows unvaccinated individuals to travel if they can present a negative PCR test result taken 48 hours before their departure, and complete the travel application form on the Al Hosn app to change their status to green.
“We urge the public to follow the required precautionary measures for all passengers before and after travel, and the current situation regarding the pandemic at their travel destinations, as well as contact the country’s diplomatic missions abroad in case of suspected infection, and use the Tawajudi service provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,” he said.
Dr. Al Ameri highlighted the updates to the travel protocol for passengers arriving in the UAE, which will make unvaccinated individuals aged under 16 exempt from presenting a negative PCR test result upon arrival, provided that they adhere to all relevant preventive measures.
The UAE has recently seen a significant decline in COVID-19 infections, which is mainly due to the efforts of the health sector and relevant national authorities, he said, noting that the UAE has achieved many successes, due to the inter-agency cooperation and the community.
Since the start of the pandemic, all relevant authorities have been keen to launch proactive readiness plans, which include ensuring the readiness of response teams and the sustainability of the country’s infrastructure, as well as utilising national resources, strengthening strategic reserves, and establishing an accurate statistical system.
He noted that protecting these achievements depends on the public’s commitment, stressing the cooperation of community members is the best way to overcome the crisis and achieve recovery.
The UAE tops a list of countries, in terms of rate of fully vaccinated individuals against COVID-19 in countries with a population of over 1 million, in an index issued by the ”Our World In Data” website, he said.
“In the same index, the UAE ranked second globally in terms of number of tests per 1,000 people, and fourth in terms of the rate of vaccinated individuals per 100 people, as well as first in terms of rate of those who have received at least one vaccine dose,” he added.
“The UAE ranked tenth globally in terms of number of tests administered, and ninth in having the lowest number of deaths, and we also note that no COVID-19 deaths were registered since 8th March, 2022,” he further added.
A man floats on a salt lake at Siwa Oasis in Matrouh Governorate, Egypt
Egypt introduces tourism incentives to ease losses from Russia-Ukraine crisis
Egypt has introduced a package of incentives to attract more tourists to ease the losses caused by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, as according to official statistics, one-third of Egypt’s inbound visitors come from the two countries.
“Egypt has taken swift and positive steps to stimulate the tourism sector, which plays a significant role in the country’s economy,” said Basem Halaqah, chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Syndicate.
Tourism used to account for up to 15 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Egypt before the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, according to official statistics.
In March, Egypt’s Tourism Development Authority launched on social media the tourists-oriented Follow the Sun campaign, which will run through May.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities organized trips for Egyptian and foreign bloggers to archeological sites in the North African country. Egypt has also expanded the e-visa portal list to cover more than 180 countries.
Ilhamy Al-Zayat, former chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Chamber, said enlarging the electronic entry list will encourage more tourists to come so that at least the costs of operating the tourist facilities could be covered.
Israel and Egypt have agreed to expand direct flights between the two countries by launching a new route between Tel Aviv and Sharm El-Sheikh. The new flights are expected to open this month.
On Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi directed the government to continue supporting the tourism sector amid the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
“The loss of Russian and Ukrainian visitors is a big hit to the tourism sector,” Halaqah said, adding campaigns targeting western European and other Arab countries, especially those that are easing travel restrictions, are being carried out for the upcoming tourist season.
However, Al-Zayat warned that the replacement of tourists from Russia and Ukraine is probably not easy in the short run.
Egypt received only 3.5 million tourists in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, down from a record 13.1 million in 2019.
In 2021, tourism, one of the main sources of foreign currency in Egypt, saw a steady recovery, as 3.5 million tourists already visited the country in the first six months.
In line with the easing of travel restrictions worldwide, Emirates continues to rebuild and expand its global network to meet travel demand…reports Asian Lite News
Emirates has announced it will ramp up its global operations with the restart of services to four destinations, including Bali, London Stansted, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires.
The airline has also announced it will boost services to Nigeria, Mauritius and Singapore to serve market demand.
In line with the easing of travel restrictions worldwide, Emirates continues to rebuild and expand its global network to meet travel demand.
Starting from 1st May, 2022, Emirates will operate five weekly flights to Bali, utilising a two-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The airline will also scale up its operations from 1st July, 2022 to serve the island destination with a daily service.
Starting from 1st August, 2022, Emirates will resume flight operations to London Stansted with five weekly flights, utilising Emirates’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fitted with the ‘Game Changer’ First Class product. From 1st September, the airline will increase its services to offer a daily flight. By October 2022, the airline will be serving the UK with 110 weekly flights.
Emirates will operate four weekly flights to Buenos Aires via Rio de Janeiro, on its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 2nd November, 2022 – offering customers from Argentina and Brazil direct connectivity to popular business and leisure destinations across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
From 1st February 2023, Emirates will scale up its operations to a daily service.
Emirates is ramping up its services to Lagos with 11 weekly flights, starting from 1st July, 2022. The airline will ramp up its operations to the Nigerian city to offer a double daily service starting from 1st September, 2022 – taking the airline’s services to pre-pandemic levels. Emirates will also increase its services to Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, to offer 5 weekly flights starting 1st May, 2022 and then a daily service from 1st September, 2022.
In line with rising demand, the airline will be scaling up flights to Mauritius from daily to nine weekly flights between 9th April 2022 and the end of June 2022, and then moving up to double daily flights from July 2022.
The airline will also increase passenger services to Singapore from seven weekly flights, to 14 weekly flights, starting from 23rd June, 2022. The added service will meet the increased demand for travel, since the country safely reopened to international tourists and eased travel restrictions.
Covid now more prevalent than ever in England. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated more than 4.1 million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected.
Thousands of Londoners were affected by the recent wave of Covid-19. The virus is now more rife in England than at any other time during the crisis, the biggest Covid surveillance scheme has suggested.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated more than 4.1 million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected. Scores of airport workers were down with Covid and it unleashes chaos at airports at Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff.
The figure is the highest ever recorded in England, topping the previous peak of 3.7 million at the height of the Omicron wave in January. It is also 18 per cent higher than last week. In the most Covid-ridden towns of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, as many as one in nine people were thought to have the virus. And infections have soared to pandemic highs in all over-35s.
Britain’s outbreak as a whole is also bigger than ever, with 4.9 million now thought to be infected — up from 4.3 million last week.
Statisticians said England’s surge was being driven by the more transmissible version of Omicron, scientifically named BA. Although, ministers admit that ditching the final Covid restrictions last month also fuelled the uptick. Despite the mass testing project warning that cases show no signs of slowing yet, top scientists are hopeful that the worst may be over.
Official numbers — reliant on people getting tested, as opposed to random swabbing — have been falling for a week, bolstering hopes that the virus was running out of steam, the report said.
EasyJet is planning to cancel more flights in the coming days due to high levels of staff absence due to Covid. Around 60 flights to and from the UK are likely to be grounded on Tuesday following 62 cancellations on Monday, BBC reported.
British Airways also cancelled 62 flights on Monday as travellers faced frustration on journeys ahead of Easter, the first holiday since the end of coronavirus travel restrictions. EasyJet said staff absences were double their normal levels due to Covid.
It said it had decided to cancel more flights in advance “in order to give customers notice”.
“We are contacting customers directly and providing them with their options,” it said. “We expect to make similar levels of pre-emptive cancellations over the coming days, due to the ongoing high level of sickness.”
Covid-related absences are compounding staff shortages at airports and airlines. The industry is struggling to recruit staff quickly enough to meet resurgent passenger demand, after thousands of jobs were lost and many workers left the industry during the pandemic. It’s led to long delays at security and check-in at some airports, with travellers at Birmingham Airport complaining of “chaos” on Monday.
Over 920K foreign tourists visit Tanzania in 2021 amid Covid
At least 922,692 foreign tourists visited Tanzania in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Damas Ndumbaro said…reports Asian Lite News
Addressing a press conference in the capital Dodoma, Ndumbaro said 620,867 foreign tourists visited the east African nation in 2020, reports Xinhua news agency.
Ndumbaro said the number of domestic tourists visiting the country’s attractions increased to 788,933 tourists in 2021 from 562,549 recorded the previous year.
He said revenue collected from foreign tourists increased from $714.59 million in 2020 to about $1.3 billion in 2021.
Tanzania is a country with many tourist attractions.
The Saudi health ministry has ended the need for key COVID-19 travel requirements for those entering the Kingdom…reports Asian Lite News
Travelers arriving in Saudi Arabia no longer have to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. They also do not need to take a PCR test before departure for the Kingdom nor do they need to quarantine when they arrive.
The ministry announced the changes in a Twitter post on Monday evening.
The decision was made due to the decrease in the number of positive COVID-19 cases, now less than four percent. In addition, the vaccination rate in the Kingdom has reached 99 percent for those 12 years or older.
On March 5, Saudi Arabia lifted most preventive measures related to combating the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ministry of Interior removed the need for masking and social distancing in outdoor spaces.
However, masking is still required in mosques throughout the Kingdom, including at the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah.
On March 6, 2022, Health Ministry spokesman Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly announced the end of COVID-19 periodic press conferences.
“The Kingdom has almost overcome the pandemic completely, thanks to the expansion in the immunization drive and enhanced community awareness programs,” Al-Aly said.
On March 4, 2020, Saudi Arabia had decided to temporarily suspend Umrah for citizens and residents; for fear of the spread of COVID-19, the authorities had also decided to prevent pilgrims from visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
In October 2020, Saudi Arabia resumed Umrah after about seven months of suspension due to the global pandemic.
Also in the same period, a total of 6,77,218 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 78.42 crore cumulative tests…reports Asian Lite News
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has eased the COVID-19-related regulations for air travel in the wake of the recent drop in number of cases in the country.
The Ministry stated that cabin crew members need not wear PPE kit, airlines need not keep three seats vacant on international flights for medical emergencies and security personnel at airports can resume pat-down search of passengers.
The relaxation has been given to facilitate “smooth conduct of air operations”, the ministry’s order, dated March 21, stated.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), in its order, said that the restriction of keeping three seats vacant on international flights for handling medical emergencies related to COVID-19 stands removed.
“Airlines may carry a few additional PPE protective gears, sanitiser and N-95 masks, to handle any respiratory infections related to cases on air, for passengers as well as the crew,” the MoCA noted.
It said it had allowed full domestic flight operations from October 18, 2021, and has now decided to recommence scheduled international flight operations from March 27, 2022, “in view of the declining COVID-19 cases, high level of vaccinations and prevailing COVID-19 situation”.
The requirement of complete PPE kit for crew member stands removed, the MoCA stated.
Meanwhile, India reported 1,778 fresh Covid cases, marginally higher than the previous days’ count of 1,581 in a span of 24 hours. In the same period 62 deaths were recorded taking the total number to 5,16,605, said the Union Health ministry on Wednesday morning.
Following a continuous downward trend, India’s active caseload further declined to 23,087 on Wednesday, constituting 0.05 per cent of the country’s total positive cases.
A total of 2,542 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,24,73,057. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.75 per cent.
Also in the same period, a total of 6,77,218 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 78.42 crore cumulative tests.
There has been a sustained fall in the weekly and daily positivity rates too. Weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 0.36 per cent and the daily positivity rate is also reported to be 0.26 per cent.
On the vaccination front, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 181.89 crore as per the provisional reports till 7 a.m. Wednesday. This has been achieved through 2,14,87,809 sessions. Over 52 lakh adolescents have been administered with the first dose of Covid vaccine since the beginning of the inoculation drive for 12 to 14 age group, said the ministry.
More than 16.97 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered, according to the health ministry as of Wednesday morning.
Given the current state of the pandemic and a move towards global travel volumes returning to normal, the remaining managed hotel quarantine capacity will be fully stood down from the end of March…reports Asian Lite News
The government will remove the remaining restrictions on international travel for all passengers ahead of the Easter holidays, the Transport Secretary announced.
As one of the first major economies to remove all its remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions, this is a landmark moment for passengers and the travel and aviation sector.
From 4am Friday 18 March, all Covid-19 travel restrictions will be lifted, including the passenger locator form (PLF) for arrivals into UK, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated. This change, therefore, removes the need for unvaccinated passengers to take a pre-departure test and a day 2 post arrival test.
This step reflects the decisions taken by the government, as set out in the Living with COVID plan, and the success of the UK’s vaccine and booster rollout, with 86% of the population having received a second dose and 67% of the population with a booster or third dose.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said, “The UK is leading the world in removing all remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions, and today’s announcement is a testament to the hard work everyone in this country has put in place to roll out the vaccine and protect each other. I said we wouldn’t keep travel measures in place for any longer than necessary, which we’re delivering on today – providing more welcome news and greater freedom for travellers ahead of the Easter holidays. I look forward to continuing to work with the travel sector and partners around the world to keep international travel moving.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said, “As we learn to live with Covid-19, we’re taking further steps to open up international travel once again ahead of the Easter holidays. We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants and keep a reserve of measures that can be rapidly deployed if needed to keep us safe. We can remove these final restrictions thanks to the incredible success of our vaccination programme, which has seen more than 8 out of 10 adults across the UK boosted. To ensure the protection of public health, the government will maintain a range of contingency measures in reserve, which would enable it to take swift and proportionate action to delay any future harmful variants of Covid-19 entering the UK should the need arise.”
In future, the government’s default approach will be to use the least stringent measures, if appropriate, to minimise the impact on travel as far as possible – given the high personal, economic and international costs border measures can have – and the contingency measures will only be implemented in extreme circumstances.
Given the current state of the pandemic and a move towards global travel volumes returning to normal, the remaining managed hotel quarantine capacity will be fully stood down from the end of March.
Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, said, “Today’s announcement sends a clear message to the world – the UK travel sector is back. With travellers returning to the UK no longer burdened by unnecessary forms and testing requirements, we can now look forward to the return to pre-Covid normality throughout the travel experience. We’re grateful for the timing of the announcement as we prepare to welcome back passengers this Easter and summer, for which we know there is huge pent-up demand, and for the UK’s leadership in being the first major aviation market to remove all remaining restrictions. The time to return to the skies – to enjoy all that makes aviation and international travel great, for families and businesses – is now.”
Karen Dee, Chief Executive of Airport Operators Association, said, “A return to restriction-free travel is good news for passengers and should allow for aviation to take significant steps towards recovery. People should feel encouraged to book their long-awaited holidays, trips to see relatives and friends abroad they haven’t seen for a long time and travel to rekindle business ties with other countries.”
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said, “Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, today’s announcement marks international travel finally returning to normal. The removal of passenger locator forms and testing regimes means that customers can at long last enjoy hassle-free travel, just like they did before the pandemic. With Easter just around the corner and summer fast approaching, this announcement comes at the perfect time. Since restrictions started to be eased at the beginning of the year, we have experienced strong, sustained demand and the complete removal of forms and requirements will boost that demand even further.
Additionally, UKHSA will continue to closely monitor the prevalence and spread of harmful variants and keep international data under review.
While there will be no border health measures on arrival in the UK from 18 March, other countries are at different stages in the pandemic and many still require passengers to comply with requirements.
Passengers are also encouraged to carefully check booking conditions for flexibility in amending bookings prior to buying tickets. People will continue to be able to access their vaccine and recovery records through the NHS COVID Pass to use when travelling overseas.
