Ram Alladi, Director of the award winning film ‘Chiseled’, is set to release his ambitious and mesmerising ‘'Ra's Metanoia'’; a re-imaging of the life of the legendary Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Shot entirely in New York and New Jersey, 'Ra's Metanoia' combines vintage film styling with state of the art computer generated sets to create this spellbinding non-linear telling of Gandhi’s life based on Gandhi’s writings - most significantly, his memoir, ‘Magic Spell Of A Book’. A periodic drama with historically accurate fictional elements, 'Ra's Metanoia' takes the audience through the key moments in Gandhi’s life; from childhood to his untimely death in 1948 in New Delhi. Although Ram Alladi has taken care to avoid religious and cultural references, the more spiritual e...
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The responsible restart of tourism is underway around the world as growing numbers of destinations ease COVID-19 related travel restrictions and adapt to the new reality. According to the latest analysis from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 40% of all destinations worldwide have now eased the restrictions they placed on international tourism in response to COVID-19. The United Nations specialized agency for tourism has been monitoring global responses to the pandemic from the start of the crisis. This latest outlook, recorded on 19 July, is up from 22% of destinations that had eased restrictions on travel by 15 June and the 3% previously observed by 15 May. It confirms the trend of a slow but continuous adaptation and responsible restart of international tourism. At the ...
Read MoreJust a few days after Emirates airlines announced a COVID-19 cover for its passengers, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has unveiled its Insurance Guidelines to rebuild global consumer confidence to help encourage the return of travelling. The guidelines are designed to drive the return of safe, healthy and responsible travel and ensure the insurance sector is fit for purpose to operate for travellers in the ‘new normal’ of the COVID-19 world. Emirates had earlier announced that it will cover medical expenses of up to EUR 150,000 and quarantine costs of EUR 100 per day for 14 days, should its passengers be diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel, while they are away from home. This cover is provided by the airline, free of cost to its customers. It ...
Read MoreThe Kiswa, the finely embroidered black cloth that covers the holy Kaaba at the center of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, was replaced, as it is customary every year, on the eve of second day of Hajj when most worshipers have made the trek to Mount Arafat. One of the most beloved events of Hajj, the Kiswa replacement process, which took place on Wednesday night, is administered by the staff of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet Mosque. The Kiswa is replaced once a year during Hajj after the pilgrims go to Mount Arafat for the peak day of Hajj in preparation for receiving worshippers the next morning, which coincides with Eid Al-Adha. Pilgrims marked on Thursday the second day of Hajj, known as Day of Arafat, as they left the h...
Read MoreGlobal passenger traffic is not going to return to pre-COVID-19 levels until 2024. And this is going to happen a year later than was projected previously. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released an updated global passenger forecast showing that the recovery in traffic has been slower than had been expected. As per the forecast, the recovery in short haul travel is still expected to happen faster than for long haul travel. Recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels, however, will also slide by a year from 2022 to 2023. For 2020, global passenger numbers (enplanements) are expected to decline by 55% compared to 2019. While in April, the forecast was of 46% decline. Obviously, things have gone worse. June 2020 passenger traffic foreshadowed the slower-than-expected rec...
Read MoreThe enormous toll of COVID-19 on international tourism has now become clear, with World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) data showing the cost up to May was already three times that of the 2009 Global Economic Crisis. As the situation continues to evolve, the United Nations specialized agency has provided the first comprehensive insight into the impact of the pandemic, both in tourist numbers and lost revenues, ahead of the upcoming release of up-to-date information on travel restrictions worldwide. UNWTO Confidence Index has dropped to record lows The latest edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer shows that the near-complete lockdown imposed in response to the pandemic led to a 98 per cent fall in international tourist numbers in May when compared to 2019. The Barometer also show...
Read MoreSandakphu at an altitude of 3636 m (11941 ft) is the highest peak in West Bengal. This place in the Singalila range of the Himalayas is one of the best places to have a panoramic view of Himalayas in India. Besides being known for its glorious views of Kanchenjunga this is said to be the only place in India from where one can see four of the top five peaks in the world- Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu. Located in the Darjeeling district on the West Bengal-Sikkim border, Sandakphu can be reached by a beautiful trek from Manebhanjang or through a once in a lifetime bone-shaking ride on a 2nd World war Land Rover. https://youtu.be/Gt58mNoJUVo ...
Read MoreWith dates and schedule for WTM London confirmed, hopes are now pinned on the meet to give the now rudderless travel and tourism industry a definite course for the years to come. Although WTM is an annual feature, but the way COVID-19 has made a catastrophic effect on the industry, this year’s met has garnered much interest among the tourism leaders worldwide to see what lies ahead. Therefore, there is no doubt that Ministers’ Summit at WTM has gained importance to set out a roadmap for a safer, greener and smarter future for the sector. The summit is the largest annual gathering of tourism ministers and will feature a day-long think-tank on Monday 2nd November during WTM London – the leading global event for the travel industry. About 100 ministers are expected to take part, along...
Read MoreAlmost two weeks after announcing reduction of 13 ships in its fleet, World’s biggest cruise company Carnival has, in an attempt to soothe the nerves, announced new plans for its fleet. It expects this to generate tremendous guest excitement once it resumes sailing. Cruise line now has a confirmed date for an additional Excel-class, LNG-powered ship arriving in November 2022. Announcement also includes information on four ships either sold or put on long term lay-up status, and other ships redeployed to new homeports. Carnival seeks to leverage its strong network of year-round and seasonal homeports in the US with upgraded offerings. The 70,000-ton Carnival Fantasy operates year-round five-, six- and seven-day voyages from Charleston, S.C. Photo by Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines ...
Read MoreAfter, webinars, Facebook live sessions and zoom meetings we are now in for Virtual Expos. Although WTM, London is going to happen as scheduled in November, same cannot be said about Travel Exhibitions due in India. With case load of COVID-19 jumping daily to new heights and no breather looking close in sight, any big exhibition seems most unlikely this year. Therefore, we are already taking expos to virtual reality as well. South Asia’s first Virtual Travel Exhibition SATTE GenX is going to take place on 23rd September 2020. During these challenging times, SATTE offers an opportunity to the stakeholders of the industry to conduct business from their locations and connect with their target audience. This Virtual Expo is a part of the industry’s broader plan to gradually reopen the ...
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