Hold your holiday horses: Take a Covid test before you take a break

Is there a need to start a tourism wing for Covid-19 testing at this point, asks Nivedita Mookerji.

Just when UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced an “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme pushing up restaurant and pub stocks, many states across India have started opening their hotels to guests from other parts of the country after almost four months of various stages of lockdown and unlocking. They will also desperately try to tap foreign travelers as soon as international flights are allowed, to make the best of the second half of the year. But that’s not good enough for tourism, which fetched forex worth $29 billion in 2019, to take off.

Wanderlust will be on hold until the current travel rules — most notably the one on mandatory Covid testing—are eased. And those following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recommendation of visiting at least 15 tourist hubs in the country by 2022 might just have to drop their plan.

A recent Union tourism department promo wooed potential travellers like this: “Planning a trip to some of these tourist destinations might just get easier for many who are looking out for an escape after spending months under the lockdown in the country.’’ It said states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa have allowed entry of tourists with effect from July 1, while pointing out how the tourism industry, across the globe, has been one of the worst-hit sectors economically due to the pandemic.

This was followed by state tourism campaigns. Uttarakhand has reopened, head out for the mountains, said one of them tempting anyone to start packing bags. “The government of Uttarakhand just lifted all travel restrictions on inter-district and inter-state travel, as well as any restrictions for international travellers. So start planning a summer trip to the mountains.” Then comes the catch. According to guidelines of the state government, if you are travelling from other parts of the country, you will have to upload your Covid-19 test report here. The travel alert goes on to add that at the time of entry, district authorities will ensure verification of your medical reports at all border check posts. Hotels will also ensure that visitors have undergone RT-PCR tests from ICMR-authorised labs not earlier than 72 hours from the time of arrival, reflecting the Covid-19 negative report.

Tourism department of Himachal Pradesh sounded equally forbidding. To visit this Himalayan state, you will need a report showing negative for Covid-19 and the test has to be done by an ICMR-accredited lab not earlier than 72 hours. In addition, you will need prior hotel booking of at least five days. If the conditions are fulfilled, there will be exemptions from the quarantine requirement. But not before all inter-state movement is monitored via registration through the Covid e-pass software. Also, people coming to Himachal Pradesh from other states will need to strictly adhere to the guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the health and revenue departments of the state, the note enticing you for a vacation states.

Goa’s allowing only domestic tourists who have pre-booked their accommodation. They have to either carry a Covid-19 negative certificate or get tested at the state borders before gaining entry. Tourists who test positive can either return to their states or get treatment in Goa.

Some international destinations too are making things tough for tourists. The latest edition of Lonely Planet lists out some of the places to visit during this year. Sri Lanka is one of them. It has to be a minimum stay of five days and a Covid-negative certificate for a test done not before 72 hours of boarding the flight is a must. If there are symptoms during the flight, there will be a test at the airport. Next will be a mobile team test within four days. For those staying beyond 10 days, there will be one more test. Among others on that list, Dubai is asking for an international medical cover including for Covid and there are test provisions at the airport. At Puerto Rico, there’s a 14-day quarantine but an exemption is possible with a Covid-negative certificate.

Even as many international airlines are offering tickets valid for two to three years with unlimited options for changing dates and destinations, the harsh rules make holidays look more distant than ever.

If evacuation flights, including under Vande Bharat scheme, are not insisting on mandatory Covid tests, why do tourists with no symptom have to go through the ordeal? States are coping with a severe shortage in testing infrastructure while trying to prevent the virus from spreading. Is there a need to start a tourism wing for Covid testing at this point?