Greece’s tourism sector is expected to recover next summer following a dramatic fall in revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic this year, a senior industry official said on Tuesday. Tourism is the main driver of Greece’s economy, accounting for about 20% of its output and employing one in five workers. FILE PHOTO: The Parthenon temple is seen atop the Acropolis hill at dusk, in Athens, Greece, December 10, 2020. REUTERS/Vassilis Triandafyllou How the sector fares is crucial for the country which emerged from its third international bailout in 2018 after a decade-long debt crisis. Yannis Retsos, head of the country’s tourism confederation (SETE), said tourism revenues this year had reached 4 billion euros, down from 18 billion in 2019, due to global travel restrictions to con...
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Ukraine’s biggest ski resort Bukovel in the Carpathian mountains is fully booked until the end of year as Ukrainians have sped to it instead of other foreign resorts that have been shut due to coronavirus-linked restrictions across Europe. An aerial view shows the ski resort Bukovel amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) near the village of Polianytsia in Ivano-Frankivsk Region, Ukraine December 27, 2020. REUTERS/Sergiy Karazy Bukovel’s management said the resort had already been booked at 80% capacity through January. Bukovel, which sits 920 meters (3,000 feet) above sea level and covers five mountains in western Ukraine, attracts two million visitors each year. A tourist from Kyiv, Anton Luzhnyh, said he used to go to France to ski. “Why am I here? Because f...
Read MoreThailand recorded 3,065 foreign tourists in November, official data showed on Monday, in its second month of receiving long-stay visitors after a ban was imposed in April to keep coronavirus infections under control. The 3,065 foreign tourists in November is just a fraction of the 3.39 million arrivals in the same period last year. In October, there were 1,201 foreign visitors. FILE PHOTO: Tourists take pictures at Phu Thap Buek mountain in Phetchabun province, Thailand, December 12, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo Though the country is gradually opening up to foreign visitors and offering incentives to boost domestic travel, efforts to revive its tourism-driven economy are being hampered by an outbreak found 10 days ago that has since infected more than 1,600 people in 43 ...
Read MoreA low key turnout due to strict COVID-19 restrictions, was witnessed at the famous shrine of Lord Saturn in Tirunallar in the union territory of Puducherry on Sunday on the occasion of 'Sani Peyarchi' festival. Devotees entering the temple were scanned with thermometers. They were not allowed to take a holy dip in the temple tank. The bells of Lord Saneeswara Temple here rang at 5:22 AM amidst 'Maha Deeparadhanai' and special prayers marking the transit of Lord Saturn. A special abhishekam was held with 27 types of holy material. Lord Saneeswara was placed on a golden crow mount. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_script",n=e.fwn=function(){ n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments) },e._fwn||(e._fwn=n),n.queue=[],!t.getElementB...
Read MoreLingaraj Temple at Bhubaneswar reopened for devotees on Sunday after remaining closed for almost nine months due to COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. Servitors and their family members were allowed entry into the oldest shrine of the state capital on the first day. They will be allowed to pray inside the temple till December 31, while the general public from outside the state capital will be allowed from January 6. The residents of Bhubaneswar can have the darshan of the Lord from January 3. The 11th century Lingaraj temple is a unique place in India where both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are worshipped together, making it a "Hari-Har" peeth. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_script",n=e.fwn=function(){ n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.pu...
Read MoreThe ceremonial procession carrying 'Thanka Anki', the sacred golden attire to be adorned on Lord Ayyappa during the auspicious Mandala puja, reached Sabarimala temple on Friday evening. As COVID-19 protocols were in place, only a few people, instead of the hundreds of ardent devotees usually seen, could accompany the annual procession. FILE PHOTO of Thanka Anki reaching Sabarimala Temple. The procession had set off four days ago from Aranmula Sree Parthasarthy temple, one of the state's prominent shrines dedicated to Lord Krishna, where the sacred attire is kept. Donated by erstwhile Travancore king, late Sree Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, the 'Anki' is the sacred gold attire worn by Lord Ayyappa during the Mandala Pooja. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_scri...
Read MoreAmid concerns over the detection of a mutated and more infectious strain of COVID-19 in the UK, the Meghalaya government has barred the entry of individuals from the European country into the state. The government has also urged people who have recently returned from Britain or transited through the country to stay in isolation and inform the government about their travel history, according to an official order. Krang Suri Waterfall at West Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya "Tourists coming from the UK are prohibited from entering the state with immediate effect in view of the (detection of) a new highly infectious COVID-19 strain. "All entrants to the state (who have come) from or transited through the UK in the past 4 weeks (from 25th November to 23rd December 2020) are required to ...
Read MoreThe Maharashtra government has allowed water sports as well as activities like boating and entertainment/amusement parks to resume as part of phase-wise easing of lockdown restrictions in the state. A government circular, dated December 21, said all norms of social distancing and precautions to check the spread of COVID-19 will have to be followed during these activities. It said water sports and other activities like boating will be allowed outside the COVID-19 containment zones. "Entertainment/amusement parks including indoor entertainment activities, tourist places will be allowed to function provided the same are outside containment zones," the circular further said. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_script",n=e.fwn=function(){ n.callMethod?n.callMethod....
Read MoreThe Shree Jagannath Temple here reopened for devotees on Wednesday after remaining closed for nine months in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The much-awaited 'darshan' of the sibling deities - Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath, began at 7 am amid strict adherence to the COVID-19 guidelines for servitors and their family members only, officials said. The Temple remained closed since the middle of March due to the outbreak of the pandemic. This is for the first time in the history of the 12th century Lord Vishnu shrine here that the devotees were denied the opportunity for having 'darshan' of the deities, the officials said. "It was a matter of luck for any human being to have darshan of the deities in Jagannath dham. We are blessed to get the opportunity in the ...
Read MoreWhile travel and tourism industry is frowning upon latest travel bans across the globe in wake of new coronavirus strain, governments across Europe are trying to navigate between avoiding the spread of the novel coronavirus over the Christmas holiday season and allowing people to celebrate with family and friends. The European Commission recommended on Tuesday that travel bans imposed by EU countries on Britain to contain a new variant of the coronavirus should end to allow freight and essential travel to resume and let people return home. Travellers with they suitcases sit at the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras International, as EU countries impose a travel ban from the UK following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah M...
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