Russian arrivals on rise, but yet to match pre-pandemic numbers

Times of India | 1 month ago | 01-12-2022 | 07:40 am

Russian arrivals on rise, but yet to match pre-pandemic numbers

Panaji: Since November, Goa has received one charter a day, besides four scheduled flights a week, from Russia. However, stakeholders said that the state will probably have to wait till the next season to touch the pre-pandemic numbers. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Goa would receive three charters a day from various Russian destinations. Nonetheless, tourism stakeholders are happy with the footfalls as the last two seasons saw them run into losses. “We are doing good this season, but I think we will be able to achieve pre-pandemic level business only next year,” said Ernest Dias, chief operating officer at Sita, handling Russian tourists.For the longest time, Russia has been the biggest market for Goa, apart from the UK. In 2019, Goa received 3.41 lakh tourists from Russia and 2.71 lakh from the UK. More than half the charter tourists came from Russian destinations. Dias said that a new trend that he has observed this season is that, besides budget tourists, the state is also seeing high-spending tourists from Russia.“That’s probably because Russia being at war with Ukraine, its citizens have fewer travel options,” said Dias.Vice president (operations) at Minar Travels (India) Pvt Ltd, Abida Kumar, said charters from Russia will continue till April 23, 2023.Besides Russia, two charters a week from the UK and one from Kazakhstan fly into Goa. President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), Nilesh Shah, said that with the e-visa issue still unresolved, UK charters are seeing only 50-60% occupancy.“Had the e-visa problem been sorted out, we could have more arrivals from the UK,” Shah said.Before the season started, TUI Airways had committed to fly four charters, but altered its plan after potential UK travellers cancelled their Goa plans after facing difficulties in securing paper visas.Until the pandemic, Goa received repeat tourists from the UK.A tour operator handling UK travellers said that even as the e-visa issues remain unresolved, they are receiving queries from the UK and expect the next season to be better. In 2018, as many as 2.94 lakh travellers from the UK visited Goa, the highest numbers seen in a decade since 2009, while average annual arrivals stood at 1.75 lakh. Goa also received a significant number of tourists from countries such as Germany, Ukraine, Finland, France and Switzerland. Arrivals from Ukraine dried up last year with the war. Arrivals from Finland, France and Switzerland have dipped significantly in the last few years.

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Global Investors Summit: UP Govt inks Rs. 7,000-crore MoUs at Kolkata event
The Indian Express | 5 days ago | 18-01-2023 | 05:40 am
The Indian Express
5 days ago | 18-01-2023 | 05:40 am

The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday announced that it signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth over Rs 7,000 crore during a roadshow organised in Kolkata ahead of the Global Investors Summit that is slated to be held in Lucknow in February. The domestic roadshow was organised to seek investment for the state and was the fourth such event to be held by the state government in a city. Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had organised similar roadshows in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. The government signed MoUs with Greentech Environment Pvt Ltd (Rs 2,000 crore), Captain Steel (Rs 1,650 crore) Shyam Metallics (Rs 630 crore), Haldiram Bhujiawala (Rs 500 crore ) and Balaji Wafers (Rs 500 crore), Tata Steel DownStream Products Limited (Rs 250 crore), SRMB (Rs 250 crore), Anmol Feeds for fish farming (Rs 50 crore), Allenberry (medical gas) (Rs 200 crore), Eastern Equipment ENT (Rs 25 crore) and Lux Industry Limited (Rs 50 crore), Infinity Infotech Park (Rs 400 crore), SKM Group’s Char Nauk Hospital (Rs 200 crore) and, Meghdootam Travels (Rs 150 crore).The roadshow was led by a delegation comprising Uttar Pradesh Infrastructure and Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, Cabinet Minister for Labour and Employment Anil Rajbhar, and Ministers of State Dayashankar Singh and Ajit Pal Singh. The delegation apprised the investors about the state’s potential in sectors like defence and aerospace, civil aviation, logistics, electronics, IT, startups, data centre, handloom and textiles, agriculture and allied industries, tourism, films, renewable energy, electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, and education and skill development.A government spokesperson said investors from West Bengal mainly showed interest in transportation within cities, education, conversion of waste into energy, and construction of hospitals as well as the tourism sector.The team pitched the state as “crime-free” and a “transformed” one with an “enormous investment potential”. The delegation also assured investors that they would get a “safe environment” to do business along with quality infrastructural facilities – right from expressways, rail connectivity, Metro rails and upcoming airports.Berger Paints’ Managing Director and CEO, Abhijit Roy, who attended the roadshow in Kolkata, said, “Uttar Pradesh is attractive in terms of market, infrastructure, land, tax, and ease of doing business. The market is extremely important. Modern and progressive investment routes have become the foundation of business.”“When it comes to interest rates, the government has launched attractive profit schemes. Businesses’ desire to provide adequate solutions to all these things motivates every businessman,” said Roy.Ramakant Barman, Managing Director of Green Tech Environment Management Private Limited, whose company expressed interest in establishing around five ‘waste-to-energy’ plants in the state said, “Cities such as Lucknow, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur have a lot of potential. There are many ongoing projects in Varanasi.”

Global Investors Summit: UP Govt inks Rs. 7,000-crore MoUs at Kolkata event
Punjab’s new health minister bats for indigenous systems of medicine
The Indian Express | 5 days ago | 18-01-2023 | 03:40 am
The Indian Express
5 days ago | 18-01-2023 | 03:40 am

Medical Education and Research Minister Dr Balbir Singh Tuesday emphasised the need to promote the indigenous systems of medicine, naturopathy and yoga in the state.Presiding over his first meeting with principals of 16 Ayurvedic, three Unani and one Homeopathic college of Punjab at Medical Education Bhawan, Mohali, he suggested various measures which can be taken for increasing the number of persons seeking benefits from these systems.A statement quoted Dr Balbir as saying that major ailments like cancer, diabetes, hypertension etc can be prevented in the initial stages by using herbal medicines.“He said that Ayurveda is the oldest method of treatment and its importance has increased in the present time when many people are suffering from various lifestyle diseases,” the statement added. The minister further said that ayurvedic treatment methods can also be beneficial to free the youth from the bad effects of drugs.He encouraged the private college managements of Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy to contribute more for the popularity of these treatment methods at their level too.The Minister further said that people all over the world are aware of the Ayurvedic and natural healing system and want to use it for good health. He directed the Guru Ravidas Ayurved University to explore such possibilities so that more and more foreigners and people from other states can be attracted to Punjab for Ayurvedic medical tourism.

Punjab’s new health minister bats for indigenous systems of medicine