Statue of Liberty generates around $100 million just from tickets!! The actual business including hotels and air tickets would run into billions of USD.
Boost for tourism: Andaman and Nicobar Islands to get four water aerodromes this year
The government of India plans to set up four water aerodromes in Andaman & Nicobar Islands this year, as it looks to develop the union territory as a tourist destination that can compete with the likes of Maldives and Mauritius.Over 62,000 Indians travelled to the Maldives in the six months up to December 2020, making India the biggest source of tourists for the island nation. Mauritius, another Indian Ocean island, used to get 1.5 million tourists from India every year before COVID-19 hit.
"We recently sent a team from Andaman & Nicobar to the Maldives so that the Union Territory can build similar capacities, and ensure that the water aerodrome projects will be implemented successfully," Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, told Moneycontrol in a recent interaction.
"By the end of this calendar year, we should have the water aerodromes in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. We have identified four places for these water aerodromes," Padhee added.
The four locations for the upcoming water aerodromes are Havelock Island, Long Island, Port Blair and Neil Island. These aerodromes will have seaplanes connecting these four destinations to cities in southern India.
Apart from Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the government has similar plans for Lakshawadeep too. "Both archipelagoes have similar conditions and seaplane operations will give a boost to tourism and thus the local economies, and at the same time ensuring that the ecology is not disturbed," said Padhee.
This is not the first time that Andaman & Nicobar Islands will see seaplane operations. In fact, India's first seaplane took from the islands in 2020. But the pilot project didn't last long.
Last year in October, SpiceJet began seaplane operations in Ahmedabad and the Statue of Unity. While the service had to be suspended soon, owing to aircraft maintenance troubles, the airline now plans to acquire its own seaplanes, instead of leasing them.
In February, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh mentioned the company will also plan for seaplane operations in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Overall, the government plans to develop 14 more aerodromes, under the UDAN scheme to promote regional air connectivity. Some of the proposed routes are Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Udaipur, Delhi-Jodhpur and Delhi-Badrinath.
"We want to also focus on hilly regions such as the North-East, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh," Padhee said, about the government's focus to improve air connectivity in regions where road travel can be a time-taking affair.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is expected to soon start a "special round of bidding." This 4.1 round of UDAN will include routes that were otherwise cancelled in the earlier rounds.
The new round will also have routes that will be operated by helicopters or involve water aerodromes.
"We will give airlines a lot of operational flexibility. So if you have a 3-seater, 4-seater, 20 seater aircraft, or if you want to operate as a non-scheduled operator, this will be allowed. We will explore if this model will help airlines with small aircraft. If it works out, it will mark a new chapter for UDAN," says Padhee.
Boost for tourism: Andaman and Nicobar Islands to get four water aerodromes this year
The government wants to develop the union territory into a tourism destination on the lines of Maldives, which has seen a spike of tourists from India.
Lighthouses could become tourism spots in India in the near future
India might soon be getting world-class facilities at its lighthouses. According to reports, the Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
Uttarakhand is a state located in the northern part of India. It is bordered by the states of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The state has a population of over 10 million people. The capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun.
The state is known for its natural beauty. The state has many tourist destinations, such as the Nanda Devi National Park, Mussoorie, and Haridwar.
The state has a diverse climate, with the Himalayan region being colder and the plains being warmer. The state experiences heavy rainfall and snowfall in the Himalayan region.
Overall, Uttarakhand is a beautiful state with a lot to offer. The state is perfect for those who love nature and want to explore India's rich culture.
it showcases the beauty of india with incredible hill stations in Uttarakhand
The state is known for its natural beauty. The state has many tourist destinations, such as the Nanda Devi National Park, Mussoorie, and Haridwar.
The state has a diverse climate, with the Himalayan region being colder and the plains being warmer. The state experiences heavy rainfall and snowfall in the Himalayan region.
Overall, Uttarakhand is a beautiful state with a lot to offer. The state is perfect for those who love nature and want to explore India's rich culture.
it showcases the beauty of india with incredible hill stations in Uttarakhand
Over 15 lakh foreigners visited India in 2021
The maximum were from United States, followed by Bangladesh, United Kingdom, Canada and Nepal
With the phased unlocking in India, the central government has relaxed the visa and travel restrictions in a phased manner since May 2020.
Over 15 lakh foreigners, including 4.29 lakh US nationals and 2.4 lakh Bangladeshis, had visited India last year when the country was on an extended period of coronavirus restrictions and visa regulations, officials said.
Ten countries accounted for 74.39 per cent of the total arrival of foreigners during 2021, while 25.61 per cent of the incoming foreigners were from the rest of the nations, a home ministry official said.
A total of 15,24,469 foreigners visited India between January 1 and December 31, 2021.
The maximum number of foreigners who visited India during this period were from the United States (4,29,860), followed by those from Bangladesh (2,40,554), United Kingdom (1,64,143), Canada (80,437) and Nepal (52,544).
As many as 36,451 citizens from Afghanistan, 33,864 nationals from Australia, 33,772 from Germany, 32,064 from Portugal and 30,374 citizens of France visited India during 2021, the official said.
All international flights were suspended during the nationwide lockdown, which was first announced in India from March 25 to April 21 in 2020
due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it was extended thrice till May 31.
Even though the government had announced gradual reopening of various activities from June 2020, many restrictions continued for the remaining months of 2020 and a few months in 2021.Scheduled international flights from India to international destinations remained suspended for two years from March 25, 2020, till March 27, 2022. During this period, international flights were operated only under the 'air-bubble' arrangements, the official said.
There were visa restrictions too on foreigners travelling to India after the coronavirus outbreak.
In order to control its spread, the home ministry took a series of steps to curtail the inward and outward movement of international passengers, both foreigners as well as Indians, in a calibrated manner since February 2020.
With the phased unlocking in India, the central government has relaxed the visa and travel restrictions in a phased manner since May 2020.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued orders on October 21, 2020, permitting following categories of foreign nationals to enter India by water routes or by flights, including those under the Vande Bharat Mission or 'air bubble' (bilateral air travel arrangements) scheme or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Those who were allowed include Overseas Citizen of India and Person of Indian Origin cardholders holding passports of any country.
All foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose (including their dependents on an appropriate category of dependent visa) except those on tourist visa were also allowed.
In March 2021, the MHA restored e-Visa regime with all the sub-categories, except e-tourist visa, for the nationals of 156 countries. Subsequently from October 15, 2021, tourist and e-tourist visas were also allowed.
Restrictions imposed on incoming passenger traffic into India through the authorised airports and seaports, immigration check posts for all categories of foreign nationals who are permitted to enter India or those who may be permitted to enter India in future were removed.
The e-visa facility with five subcategories -- e-tourist visa, e-business visa, e-conference visa, e-medical visa and e-medical attendant visa -- had been extended to nationals of 171 countries for entry through 28 designated international airports and five major seaports in India.
In addition to the facility, the government has extended the visa-on-arrival scheme to nationals of Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates with double entry for a period not exceeding 60 days for business, tourism, conference and medical purposes.
Pakistani nationals above 65 years of age who cross Attari immigration check post on foot are also granted the visa-on-arrival for 45 days of stay with single entry, subject to certain conditions, another official said.
Over 15 lakh foreigners visited India in 2021
The maximum were from United States, followed by Bangladesh, United Kingdom, Canada and Nepal
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