Page 6 - Tourists

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Tourists urged to avoid Maui as hotels prepare to take in evacuees

Hawaii officials urged tourists to avoid travelling to Maui as many hotels prepared to house evacuees and first responders on the island that faces a long recovery from the wildfire that demolished a historic town and killed more than 90 people. About 46,000 residents and visitors have flown out of Kahului Airport in West Maui since the devastation in Lahaina became clear Wednesday, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. "In the weeks ahead, the collective resources and attention of the federal, state and county government, the West Maui community, and the travel industry must be focused on the recovery of residents who were forced to evacuate their homes and businesses," the agency said in a statement late Saturday. Tourists are encouraged to visit Hawaii's other islands. Gov Josh Green said 500 hotels rooms will be made available for locals who have been displaced. An additional 500 hotel rooms will be set aside for workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some ..

Independence Day long weekend: Tourists make beeline for Rajasthan

Rajasthan's major tourist attractions like Jaipur, Udaipur, and Mount Abu, are witnessing a huge rush of people owing to the Independence Day long weekend, officials said on Sunday. As August 15 will be celebrated on Tuesday, people have taken leave on Monday (August 14) for an extended four-day weekend. According to the state's Tourism Department, there has been a four-fold rise in the footfall of domestic tourists as compared to last year's Independence Day extended weekend when August 15 fell on a Monday. Officials said major tourist places, including Jaipur, Udaipur and Mount Abu, are buzzing with tourists and only those who have prior travel and accommodation bookings will be able to enjoy their vacation without any hiccups. "The number of tourists has increased by four times as compared to last year during the days around Independence Day," Deputy Director of the Tourism Department, Dalip Singh Rathore said. Due to the surge in visitors, there is near full occupancy at hotel

Himachal Police scouring inaccessible areas to trace stranded tourists

With 60,000 tourists being evacuated so far, police teams in Himachal Pradesh are now focusing on inaccessible areas with tough topography and low mobile connectivity to trace stranded persons. Heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides in many parts of the state, blocking roads and damaging property. Rescue operations are going on and the police teams are now moving to tough and interior areas where roads have been blocked due to floods and landslides to search for stranded people officiating DGP Satwant Atwal told PTI on Friday. A number of tourists stuck in Kasol, Manikaran and other adjoining areas have refused to move out without their vehicles and have decided to stay back on their own for a few more days till the situation normalises and all roads are opened, she said. The tourists said they would prefer to take their vehicles along and would wait till the roads are opened. Some said they would travel when things get better and traffic congestion is over. Due to a he

More than 50,000 tourists evacuated in Himachal: CM Sukhvinder Sukhu

Meanwhile, IPS Satwant Atwal took to her Twitter handle on Wednesday to say that 6 Israeli tourists had been transferred safely to the town of Manikaran, while another 37 were safe and in good health

2,000 tourists stranded in Kasol evacuated, says Himachal CM Sukhu

As many as 2,000 tourists stranded in Kasol area of Kullu district owing to incessant rainfall have been evacuated safely, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday. The KulluManali road was opened Tuesday evening and about 2,200 vehicles crossed Kullu. There was no mobile signal in several areas in Manali and its suburbs for the past two days and the tourists were unable to contact their families, officials said. The Kullu-Manali road was opened on the left bank of Manali, while the road on its south was washed away, a local resident said, adding that a majority of the tourists have left the place. "Over 2,000 stranded individuals in Kasol have been successfully evacuated as of now. Our teams are working tirelessly to clear the Dunkhara landslide on the Kasol-Bhuntar road. District administration is on-site coordinating relief efforts. 2200+ vehicles have safely passed through Kullu, receiving food support at Ramshilla Chowk. I personally oversee the

Monsoon fury in Himachal persists, 15 Russian tourists stranded in Kasol

Acting DGP of Himachal Pradesh, Satwant Atwal Trivedi, on Tuesday said that 15 Russian tourists were reportedly stranded in Kasol, and Police are trying to establish contact with them.

Flying boom cometh

International tourist arrivals in India stood at 6.19 million in 2022 (their number is yet to hit the pre-pandemic peak of 10.9 million)

TCS: Forex dealers, tour package sellers to collect remittance undertakings

The government on Friday said foreign exchange dealers and sellers of overseas tour packages will have to take an "undertaking" from their customers about their past remittances and overseas visits made in a fiscal for the purpose of deducting TCS. The Income Tax department issued a set of FAQs on the applicability of changes relating to Tax Collection at Source (TCS) on Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) and on the purchase of an overseas tour programme package. The differential rate of the TCS levy would kick in from October 1. The FAQ also defined what would constitute an 'overseas tour program package', on which from October 1, 5 per cent TCS would be levied on expenditures up to Rs 7 lakh. Beyond that, a 20 per cent rate would apply. Currently, these packages attract 5 per cent TCS. "It is clarified that the purchase of only an international travel ticket or purchase of only hotel accommodation, by in itself is not covered within the definition of 'overseas tour program ...

Goa beaches shut for monsoon, but tourists still flock to seafronts

The onset of monsoon in Goa has prompted authorities to close the beaches for any kind of activities, but tourists still flock to the seafronts, though in lesser numbers. Beach shacks were dismantled in the last week of May, while water sports activities were also closed by the State Tourism Department. Tourists, however, have continued visiting the beaches, though in a lesser number. Hardly 20 per cent of tourists arrive here during the monsoon. There is no activity happening here. Warnings are also issued against swimming in the sea due to high waves, said Abdul Shaikh, a tourist taxi operator from Colva Beach in South Goa. He said that the tourist season has almost closed down with no business for taxi operators. At Colva Beach, tourists were seen enjoying the rain on Wednesday, while the private lifeguard agency engaged by the state government deployed its manpower to the fullest to ensure that there were no untoward incidents. Kanwaljeet Singh from Ambala in Haryana who is i

Flash flood hits Bagipul area in HP, over 200 including tourists stranded

The Mandi police informed that the road leading to Parashar ahead of Kamand was closed due to a flood after a cloudburst around Baghi bridge in Mandi

All stranded tourists evacuated from Sikkim, no permit to be issued: DC

The North Sikkim District Collector (DC) Hem Kumar Chettri on Sunday said that no fresh permits will be issued to tourists to visit the picturesque district in view of weather-related vagaries and restoration works underway for roads damaged extensively due to landslides even as all 2,464 stranded tourists have been rescued. He said that the evacuation of all 2,464 tourists stranded following torrential downpour for three days was completed on Saturday evening. All tourists and 60 students of Namchi College have left for their respective destinations by vehicles arranged by the authorities, the North Sikkim DC said. He thanked the BRO, GREF, ITBP, Army and district officials for the successful evacuation of the tourists "We have decided to not issue fresh permits to the tourists to visit North Sikkim for the time being due to the restoration of roads underway between Mangan Chungthang," he told PTI over the phone. "Our immediate priority is to restore roads damaged due to landslid

Over 2,400 tourists stranded in North Sikkim due to inclement weather

More than 2,400 tourists, including 60 college students were stranded in Lachen and Lachung area of North Sikkim district due to road blockades following incessant rainfall since the last three days, officials said on Saturday. The district administration has pressed into service 19 buses and 70 smaller vehicles to evacuate the 2,464 stranded tourists, officials said. As of now, three buses and two other vehicles carrying 123 tourists have left for the state capital Gangtok, they said. Personnel from Quick Reaction Team of the District Disaster Management Authority, Sikkim Police, GREF, BRO, ITBP, Army, Travel Agency Association Sikkim are working together to carry out evacuation of stranded tourists, they said. Meanwhile, the road to Chungthang has been blocked at numerous points. The restoration works will start only after the rain stops. The North Sikkim district administration has set up helpline numbers - 8509822997 /116464265 - for the public to contact in case of any query

Tourist influx in J&K sees push in rural economy, employment generation

The influx of tourists to Jammu and Kashmir villages is witnessing a push in its rural economy, as well as, employment generation in the area

Hotel occupancy goes up to 90% as tourists head to Shimla to escape heat

Occupancy in hotels has increased to about 90 per cent in Shimla during the weekend as vacationers are making a beeline to the 'queen of hills' to escape the scorching heat. While the hotel occupancy here went up on Saturday, the summer rush during weekdays is yet to pick up, vice president of Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association Prince Kukreja told PTI. The peak summer tourist season starts from April 15 onwards till June 15 in Himachal Pradesh. The summer vacations in the schools in the plain areas also start from May end and a large number of people take to the hills to beat the heat. The majority of the people are coming on short notice and there is a decline in advance bookings, Kukreja said. The room occupancy is about 80-90 per cent on weekends but it drops to 30-40 per cent during the weekdays, said M K Seth, president of the Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association. A total of 1,57,335 vehicles entered and exited Shimla from Shoghi Barrier on Chandigarh-Shimla road si

Int'l tourist footfall in India will rise if citizens promote places: EAM

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that international tourist footfall in the country will increase if domestic tourism is promoted by people by way of sharing their experiences about the places they visit. He was talking to reporters here on the second day of his two-day Gujarat tour, during which he visited the villages adopted by him under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana in Narmada, a tribal-dominated district. "There are a lot of things in our country that we ourselves don't know about, and even if we know, we don't introduce them to others...International tourism will increase only when domestic tourism increases," Jaishankar said. "If we see people giving examples, enjoying the place and sending out messages and sharing experiences (about a place), then it will have an impact on the public," he said. There is a huge possibility for tourism in Narmada, which is being connected via road from Kevadia, the site of the world's tallest statue - the Statue of Uni

Hotel occupancy goes up to 80% in Shimla, gives rise to traffic in state

Occupancy in hotels and homestays has increased to about 80 per cent as tourists from the neighbouring states are making a beeline to Shimla to enjoy the long weekend under the bracing climate. The influx of tourists in the hill town is causing traffic jams on the main roads, including the Shimla-Kalka National Highway and long queues of vehicles moving at a snail's pace are causing inconvenience to both the locals and the vacationers. Vice President of Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association Prince Kukreja told PTI that the hotel occupancy has increased to about 80 per cent in Shimla and the peak summer tourist season will start from April 15 onwards till June 15. As temperatures have started rising in the plains the visitor rush is picking up ahead of tourist season. Vehicles parked on the roads and in front of hotels by the tourists coming without advance booking coupled with construction going on under the Shimla Smart City project have become major traffic bottlenecks. A numb

Entry of e-rickshaws in zero zone cause chaos in Rishikesh for 2nd day

An influx of tourists and e-rickshaws plying in the zero zone here led to a massive traffic jam here for the second consecutive day on Saturday, causing inconvenience to people. No vehicles are allowed in the nearly one-kilometre-long zero zone which stretches from the municipality building to the Chandrabhaga bridge. The town witnessed similar scenes on Friday as the long weekend began but the situation is worse today, said a shopkeeper in the Lakshman Jhoola area. The entry of e-rickshaws in the zero zone was prohibited after a meeting of the administration and transport department on Thursday. However, as droves of tourists arrived here, around 1,500 e-rickshaws entered the zero zone on Saturday, causing a traffic jam from Rishikesh to Shivpuri. The impact was also seen in Neelkanth and Lakshman Jhoola areas with vehicles moving at a snail's pace. Superintendent of Police, Dehradun (Rural), Kamlesh Upadhyay said the ban on the entry of e-rickshaws in the zero zone will be stri

Focus on sustainable adventure tourism, responsibility to locals: Minister

India is looking to explore the full potential of adventure tourism keeping in mind sustainability and livelihood opportunities for local communities, Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Saturday. Addressing a side event of the second G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting on "tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals", the minister hoped the discussions held at the meet will help countries around the world overcome the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector. He said India's topography provides for an ideal destination for sustainable adventure tourism. "We have a 7,000-km coastline, 70 per cent of the Himalayas, about 700 kilometres of rivers, sand desert and cold desert in Ladakh...all of which provide opportunities for a variety of adventure activities for both domestic and foreign tourists," Reddy said. "India is looking to explore the full potential of adventure tourism keeping in mind sustainability and opportunities for livelihood for local communitie