The Ministry of Tourism in India has released updated guidelines for travellers, travel agents, service providers and accommodation providers. Unsplash
The Ministry of Tourism in India has released updated guidelines for travellers, travel agents, service providers and accommodation providers. Unsplash
The Ministry of Tourism in India has released updated guidelines for travellers, travel agents, service providers and accommodation providers. Unsplash
The Ministry of Tourism in India has released updated guidelines for travellers, travel agents, service providers and accommodation providers. Unsplash

Namaste, not handshakes: What tourists should expect when India reopens to travellers


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

India is closed to tourists. Like many countries around the world, its borders are currently sealed in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

But travel within the country, which has a population of nearly 1.4 billion, has restarted and tourism officials have created new rules and regulations designed to protect travellers and those working in the tourism industry.

As the country looks ahead to a time when it will once again welcome international visitors, new guidelines aimed at travel operators, service providers, hotels, restaurants and guesthouses have been revealed.

On June 8, 15 days after domestic flights were allowed to restart in India, officials counted 53,331 passengers at the country's airports. AFP
On June 8, 15 days after domestic flights were allowed to restart in India, officials counted 53,331 passengers at the country's airports. AFP

The Ministry of Tourism’s recommended protocols begin with airport services. Advice includes ensuring that staff and travellers wear face masks and remain socially distanced from others. Guests should be welcomed via the traditional greeting of a namaste gesture, with both hands pressed together. This is encouraged as the correct way to greet tourists arriving in India over methods such as handshaking.

In cars, no more than two travellers can sit in the back seat and public transport for groups of more than 10 people are not recommended.

Many of India’s tourism attractions and cultural sites have already reopened or are in the process of doing so. Enhanced hygiene protocols are in place and travellers are advised to purchase tickets online to avoid queuing when they reach these places. At all monuments and museums across the country, gloves must be worn by tourists and staff.

Tour guides should make use of microphones and headsets in order to conduct sightseeing tours and maintain a physical distance of at least 1.8 metres between people.

Hotel safety regulations

Hotel operators must follow new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Tourism in India. Unsplash
Hotel operators must follow new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Tourism in India. Unsplash

When checking in to hotels, travellers must keep a two-metre distance between themselves and front desk staff, and every guest must complete a health declaration form. The use of technology – such as apps, phones or intercoms – to communicate with staff in the lobby or on the front desk is recommended rather than face-to-face contact.

Hotels must screen all travellers for elevated temperatures and must designate isolation facilities where travellers, or staff, can stay if they display signs of Covid-19. Trained rapid response teams should also be allocated in each hotel. These staff members will be responsible for preventing incidents and advising on Covid-19 protection policies throughout the property.

At hotels and in restaurants, staff must wear gloves and face masks at all times, regularly changing them after dealing with each customer. In restaurants, tables must be carefully spaced to ensure there is appropriate distance between groups of diners.

Domestic tourism has seen a steady rise since travel restrictions across India were lifted two weeks ago. On June 8, 15 days after domestic flights were allowed to restart in India, official figures said that 53,331 travellers flew within the country.

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GAC GS8 Specs

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MONDAY 
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Director: Raed Zeno

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The Cairo Statement

 1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations

2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred

3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC  

4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.

5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.

6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)

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Centre Court - from 4pm (UAE time)
Angelique Kerber (1) v Irina Falconi 
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Alexandr Dolgopolov v Roger Federer (3)

Court One - from 4pm
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Court Two - from 2.30pm
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Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Innotech Profile

Date started: 2013

Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari

Based: Muscat, Oman

Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies

Size: 15 full-time employees

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now. 

Karwaan

Producer: Ronnie Screwvala

Director: Akarsh Khurana

Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar

Rating: 4/5

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars

Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.

Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.

After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.

Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.

It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.

 

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The bio

Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions

School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira

Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk

Dream City: San Francisco

Hometown: Dubai

City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala

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Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm

Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km