Hop on and off buses beginning September

Starting September 15, Delhi will join an elite list of international cities which have a 'hop-on, hop-off' bus service for tourists.

With three designated routes that include not just monuments but also museums, parks, shopping areas and foreign exchange bureaus, the buses will ply at intervals of 10 minutes to 15 minutes like in other cities including London, Paris, Rome, New York, Sydney, Singapore, Barcelona and others. Though the service has been started with an eye on the Commonwealth Games, it will continue after the sporting extravaganza.

To start with, 15 buses will run on the designated routes to cover monuments such as Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Qutab Minar, Purana Qila, Begumpuri Masjid, Hauz Khas monuments and Tughlaqabad Fort, and other places of interest in Mehrauli area and Lutyens' Delhi. The routes will also cover shopping areas like Connaught Place, Santushti Complex, Khan Market, malls, Dilli Haat, museums, Commonwealth Games venues, parks, foreign exchange bureaus and even popular eating joints.

"The service will start from September 15 with 10-15 buses. Based on the response, more buses and routes will be added after the Commonwealth Games," said Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta.

The buses will be luxury coaches with large window panes that will enable visitors a clear view of the city from every seat. The government is going for air-conditioned, low-floor buses. "We needed CNG buses and finding an open/glass top double-decker variant in CNG was not possible. But we will look at introducing such buses after the Games," said Rina Ray, managing director, Delhi Tourism. To make them look attractive, the buses will be painted in bright colours and the exteriors will reflect the character of the tours on offer. Every bus will also have a dedicated guide on board, along with specialised audio guides and literature, to keep the visitors updated on the sites as they pass by. Every trip will be of 2.5 hour to 3 hour duration.

The project started off as a joint effort between Delhi Tourism and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), but the latter pulled out due to excess workload before the Games. Now, the buses will be run by a private operator. The routes have been decided in consultation with INTACH. "The service is not just aimed at foreign tourists. We are also targeting national tourists and Delhiites who would like to explore the city. The fare, though yet to be finalised, will be nominal," Ray added.

Buses run on predefined routes at regular intervals. Tourists can choose a route and board any bus. They will have the option of getting off at a place of their interest on the way and have the choice of taking any of the later buses on the same route. The ticket has a day-long validity. "The entire plan is to empower tourists who come to the city during the Commonwealth Games. As of now, three routes have been finalised but more will added after the Games. The service will follow the model used abroad, where buses visit places of interest and not just monuments," said AGK Menon, Convenor, INTACH.

Rajasthan tourism packages for CWG tourists include ghost town

This one is sure to be a big hit amongst visitors. Rajasthan government has planned to cash in on a "haunted" place of the state during 2010 Commonwealth Games. The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) for the first time has included the historical ruins of the 16th century town, Bhangarh, in one of its tour packages from New Delhi, especially designed for the duration of the games. The town is a couple of hours from Jaipur by road and was once part on the flourishing kingdom resting under the foothills of the Aravali ranges in Alwar district of the desert state.

"This is first time we chose to include this worth-visiting place in our tour packages. It is a ghost city as per local mythologies and we picked it up to reasonably boost tourism in this area," Manjit Singh, Chairman and MD, RTDC, told.

"We have designed several tour packages during the CWG as the event is sure to boost tourism in the state. We are expecting a good response for all the packages which have been designed keeping schedule of the event in mind," he says.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has put up signboards warning visitors to keep off the isolated place from sunset to sunrise. People visit the place during day-hours to get the glimpse of the ruined town, and RTDC wants to take its popularity to a new height.

"Bhangarh is likely to remain in our tour packages after CWG also, but it all depends on response and feedback from tourists. However, we hope that it will attract tourists and the response would be positive," says Singh.

People avoid entering the area after sunset due to several spooky stories associated with Bhangarh. Rajasthan tourism authority is not guaranteeing any citings and paranormal experiences but this one is sure to be a hit as the town wears a run down look.

"Till now, tourists used to visit the place led by folklore but with CWG the place may get a fresh lease of life with the state government introducing tour package covering this site too," says the officer.

According to one story, a tantrik cursed the city after a beautiful princess spurned him and hurled a bowl of oil containing a love potion meant for her on a wall that collapsed and buried the tantrik. The dying man put a curse on Bhangarh saying the kingdom would be wiped out overnight and would never be inhabited again, except for the temples.

Today many barrack like constructions, dot the cobbled path leading up to an old fort, casting an eerie impression on the visitor.

It opens up to a huge open space that is littered with rubbles of temples. Beyond the central square, the fort rises in the foothills. It was seven-storey high but only four of its stories remain today.

The RTDC is offering 11 tour packages from Delhi to Rajasthan during CWG with ten per cent discount from September 1 to October 10 this year.

The tourist season in the state also begins from this period, and lasts till April.

New visa rules for UK tourists to India

India unveiled a "tourist visa on arrival" scheme for citizens of five countries a few months back. Tourists from New Zealand, Japan, Finland, Luxembourg and Singapore can pay US$60 (£40) on arrival at the country's main airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai (Madras) and Kolkata (Calcutta).

The scheme was launched to promote India tourism and to attract visits for 2010 Commonwealth Games. Yet thousands of prospective UK visitors to India have had their plans wrecked by an arbitrary change to visa rules and delays in the system, which was recently outsourced to a company called VF Services (UK) Ltd.

(Read: Indian tourist visa rule changes)
The change in rules affects holders of multi-entry visas. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has decreed that anyone who intends to enter the country twice in less than two months must seek additional permission from the High Commission of India in London or the Indian Consulates at Birmingham and Edinburgh. This will affect tourists planning to make a side trip to Nepal, as well as those who make frequent visits to India.

To get permission to visit more than once in two months, travelers must take a full itinerary with hotel and flight bookings – which itself requires a leap of faith given the uncertainty surrounding visa rules.

The government warns that the extra red tape can take three or four working days, but in straightforward cases permission is normally granted within a couple of hours, with a "Miscellaneous Charge" of £7 for the privilege. Travelers who are granted permission must register with the authorities within 14 days of arrival.

Many British travelers have already fallen foul of the change in rules. One Independent reader, Julie Calvert, was due to fly out from Heathrow to Delhi a week ago – but arrived at Virgin Atlantic's check-in desks to be told that she could not travel, as she had spent Christmas and the New Year in India:

"It was a special trip, to coincide with the Holi festival and my partner's 50th birthday, so we didn't have the flexibility to change our trip."

Ms Calvert says she is out of pocket by over £2,000: "Virgin were aware of the issue, because they were checking passports to see whether people had been to India in the past two months. They know who's bought a ticket to India. They could very easily send out an email mailshot to everyone who was potentially affected."

Virgin Atlantic says that clients who book direct were informed, but Ms Calvert bought her ticket through an agent. It warns passengers that "Virgin Atlantic is not responsible for verifying individual travelers' itineraries, and therefore passengers visiting India on a multiple entry tourist visa are expected to take personal responsibility for the above".

Travel insurance does not offer compensation for failure to comply with visa rules, even when they change without notice.

Delays in issuing other visas are causing business visitors to delay or cancel trips. "The processing time is longer than usual due to the high volume of postal applications," warns VF Services. It is recommending a minimum of 15 working days – three weeks – for postal applications. Allowing a few days for time in transit, and the odd UK/Indian public holiday, it appears that at least one month is needed to ensure a visa will arrive before departure.

The time can be reduced to two or three days by making a personal application at one of VF Services' offices, but on Wednesday this week the queue at one of the London offices – 60 Wilton Road, close to Victoria station – was already long at 8am, half-an-hour before the office opened.

A couple from Somerset, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of jeopardizing future visits, left for India a week late because of delays in renewing their business visas (price £169 each). The pair are regular visitors to India, but they are considering switching some contracts to Eastern Europe rather than battle with Indian bureaucracy. "It's hard enough to do business there without this. We try to do what we can to be 'fair trade', but the Indian government seems to be doing everything to impede us."

Jagdish Chander, of the tourist office in London, said: "We are asking them to hire more staff. We are here to help get more tourists from UK to India." He was unable to speculate on when British travelers might qualify for visa-on-arrival status. "It's not in my hands."

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi in October, which is likely to add pressure to the system.

ITDC's preparations for Commonwealth Games

The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), the official hospitality partner for the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010, is all set to make the much awaited sports extravaganza, the most memorable experience for the global tourists. From re-designing the hotel interiors, to impart training to support staff and hiring volunteers, ITDC is undertaking massive preparations for this mammoth event.

To start off, Hotel Ashok-the pioneers in the Indian luxury hotel industry has been designated as the official “Games Family Hotel” and has undertaken extensive renovation. From interiors to furnishings to upholstery every thing has been revamped. Keeping the Indian tradition in mind, the hotel now boasts of Indian extravagance combined with the minimalistic European feel. The entire renovation took place within a stipulated period of five months with a budget of Rs 146 crores. In addition to the renovation at The Ashok, ITDC is also conducting training for support staff such as drivers, taxi drivers and dhabawallas to make them efficient to handle international clientele.

ITDC will also hire 700 students from the top 10 colleges in Delhi and other hospitality institutes in India. These students will be designated as “Hospitality Executives” and will act as volunteers at different venues. In order to promote night tourism in Delhi, ITDC is further undertaking the task of lighting major monuments in Delhi so that tourists can visit these monuments in their fully lit view.

“The entire makeover and other initiatives undertaken by ITDC will give a magnificent international touch both in terms of appearance, services and comfort and ensures that the visit turns to be a truly pleasurable and enriching experience for visitors during CWG-2010,” said an official spokesperson from ITDC

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Planning Commission has turned down tourism ministry's demand for an additional Rs 50 crore for overseas promotion of Commonwealth Games and has instead cut down its budget. The ministry had asked for a hike of Rs 50 crore for special promotion keeping in view the forthcoming Games but is now faced with a budget cut of Rs 50 crore.

The lack of coordinated publicity before a high profile sporting event could end up damaging the whole purpose of hosting the Games and pitching India as a tourist destination, the ministry feels. The ministry's budget was Rs 1,000 crore for 2009-2010. Of this, Rs 250 crore was allocated for overseas marketing and promotion while Rs 60 crore was left for domestic promotion. "Plan panel has not only rejected our demand for more funds but also cut our budget from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 950 crore," a source said.

National Cadets helping Commonwealth Games 2010

The National Cadet Corps (NCC) is preparing approximately 5000 cadets from various schools and colleges of the Capital to serve the nation during its most prestigious event, the Commonwealth Games 2010 (CWG).

NCC Director General, Lt General R. K. Karwal, lauded the volunteering services offered by the cadets on the eve of its 61st anniversary. He anticipated a prominent role of the NCC during the CWG as it did for the Asiad Games.

"We are continuously thriving towards contributing to the forthcoming grand event and are ready to provide the organizing committee as many cadets as they require. The committee is continuously in touch with us to fit our cadets in their plan. Their training mainly involves traffic control, crowd management and disaster management. They did a commendable job during the Sarojini Nagar blasts," said Lt. Gen Karwal.

The anniversary celebrations of the NCC went on for a week. It conducted 37 national integration camps and 6 special integration camps in different parts of the country.

"Such camps help develop respect and admiration for the vast cultural diversity of our country where the cadets are exposed to a common platform for interaction. This initiative will help train our cadets when a lot of foreign tourists would come in our country," said Lt. General.

The fourth Sunday of every November is celebrated as the NCC Day to commemorate the first ever function held by it on its inception. It was in November 1949 that the NCC held its first function with India's first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru presiding over it in Delhi.

"The NCC is the largest uniform youth organization in the world with 13 lakh cadets including three lakh girls, engaged in grooming the youths to make them socially aware," he added.

2010 Sports mega event and Tourism conference in SA

Travel and Tourism sector has emerged as one of the 21st century's critical drivers of economic growth, job creation, and development of communities, regions, and nations. The "Tourism Economy," a vital source of employment, revenue, investment, trade, and unity, has recently been recognized as a powerful stimulus for recovery from the global economic crisis.

As a reflection of the importance of the travel and tourism sector to unlock the growth potential of nations and the role of major sporting, business, and cultural events to re-inspire tourists to travel to global destinations, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN WTO) and the South African Government announced on October 30, 2009 that the T&T world's first international Tourism, Sport, and Mega-events Summit will be held in Sandton, South Africa from February 24-26, 2010.

The summit will provide a forum for active discussion, debate, and direction around the leverage of mega-events as a vital force for sector growth and advancement in national development strategies.

A number of major global events will be held in 2010, including the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Commonwealth Games in India, the World Exhibition in Shanghai, and the Winter Games in Canada.

With this taken into consideration, the UNWTO seeks to align the global Travel and tourism sector's leadership to create a framework for leveraging sport and other mega-events (including cultural and entertainment events, exhibitions, and business conventions) for economic growth. This process must take into account the economic, social, and environmental consequences for host nations and the massive multimedia opportunities for nation branding and export promotion.

South Africa's Department of Tourism and Department of Sport, as well as CNN International as a global media partner, will be working in partnership with the UN WTO.

As stated by Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UN WTO: "This important meeting reflects the increasing economic and social impacts of sport, mega-events, and tourism. It will establish new lines of thinking on operations, economics, and sustainability. We are delighted to be working with South Africa - particularly in 2010 which will see a great sporting mega-event in the FIFA World Cup, which promises so much for Africa."

The summit will be held parallel to the annual Meetings Africa, Africa's top business tourism exhibition hosted annually by South African Tourism.

Spurcing up Delhi's Heritage

What happens when one of the most arcaeologically rich cities hosts a sporting event second only to the Olympics? Tourists get twice the fun for the price of one. While attending Commonwealth Games 2010, they can slip out any time to visit any of the 1,200 heritage monuments this city has to offer.

With as many as three world heritage sites — the Qutab Minar complex, Humayun’s Tomb complex and Red Fort complex — to boast of, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is getting ready to showcase the legacy of the Capital during the Games.

Of the 175 ASI-protected monuments, work has begun on sprucing up 46 of them.

"These monuments are mostly important ones like the world heritage sites and also those on the routes of Games venues. The list also includes a few lesser known monuments,” said KN Shrivastava, ASI director-general.

Conservation and/or repair work will be carried out at most monuments. For instance, the Tughlaqabad Fort wall and the Siri Fort wall are being restored to their original glory.

The ASI is carrying out chemical treatment at a few monuments that need cleaning up. “The residents and regular visitors to the Hauz Khas area are witness to how the black colour on most of the monuments due to moss has given way to a clean sandstone yellow (or the original colour of the monuments) after chemical treatment,” said an ASI official.

“The landscape around helps build its ambience. So we are focusing on environmental development like lawns and other horticulture interventions,” said an official from the horticulture branch.

Tourists can also enjoy ‘Delhi at Night’. India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has identified more than 20 monuments and these are being lighted up by ITDC.

While the world heritage sites have basic public utilities like toilets and drinking water, they aren’t available at all 46 monuments. Plans are afoot to provide these facilities at all of them. Uniform brown stone signage would also come up at all sites.

“The additional facilities would include publication counters that will have brochures telling the history of the place, audio guides, cafeterias and the like as available at the three world heritage sites,” said another ASI official.

Source: Topnews.in

Hosting Games and healing Souls

Ayurvedic and Medical Tourism industries will benefit from 2010 Commonwealth Games as the industry is expected to fetch Rs. 800 crore of revenue during the glaring event, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

According to Chamber, domestic ayurvedic industry market which is currently estimated at Rs. 3000 crore will go up to over Rs. 5000 crore in next 2 years in view of rising demand for ayurvedic therapy and products. This is due to the fact that major hospital chains in Delhi, NCR and Northern Region as also ayurvedic/spa centres are gearing up to attract large number of visitors and generate maximum revenue.

States like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and even UP, ayurveda/spa and medical tourism centres will also contribute in its growth, which is currently dominated by Kerala and Karnataka, feels the Chamber.

In a Paper brought out by the ASSOCHAM on 'Opportunity for Ayurvedic & Medical Tourism during CWG', it has been predicted that ayurvedic industry would alone earn a business of Rs. 500 crore and revenues prospects for medical tourism are predicted for estimated amount of Rs. 300 crore.

The job opportunities that would arise for professionals of these two promising industries are projected for 40,000 people, said Mr. D S Rawat, ASSOCHAM Secretary General while releasing the estimates. Mr. Rawat pointed out that the ASSOCHAM estimates are based on the assumption that over 1800 athlete participation would be bare minimum for 2010 commonwealth games in variety of sporting disciplines and tourist arrivals for the people is projected for 6-7 lakh overseas visitors. The countries of which maximum outflow of tourists would emerge include UK, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka etc. and over 4 lakh domestic tourists from.

The Chamber paper hoped that keeping in view of India’s ancient tradition of ayurveda and its low-cost medical tourism facilities, apart form UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka a large number of outside visitors from aforesaid countries would like to take advantages of domestic ayurvedic and medical tourism facilities/resorts.

The Chamber estimates reveal that each foreigner visiting India during Commonwealth games is likely to spend Rs.10,000 to Rs. 35,000/- in availing ayurvedic expertise in various spa and herbal centers.

While, the medical tourism spending will be higher between Rs. 40,000-Rs.1,20,000 in view of cardiac surgery, bone marrow transplant, etc., bulk of tourists will spend in ayurveda and related treatments, said Mr. Rawat.

Based on enquiries received by the ASSOCHAM through its various workshops and seminars, various players in the hospitality industry based on Delhi, NCR, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are proposing to set up over 200 ayuveda, spa and herbal centres to provide possible comforts to tourists and athletes that gathered during the period.

The export potential of ayurveda is currently pegged at Rs 12,500 crore and approx. 20,000 units are involved in this field and the main players include Dabur, Himalayas, Zandu, Baidyanath. In India, there are approx. 380,000 registered medical practitioners of the ayurvedic system as compared to about 700,000 modern medical system.

The reputed private hospitals in Delhi and NCR like Fortis, Moolchand, Sir Ganga Ram, Apollo, Noida Medicare, Metro, Dharmshila, Max etc. can tap the large inflow of medical tourism. Better connectivity from the games villages and hotels in Delhi will also pave the way for these hospitals to contribute the medical tourism sector. For the last several years, Apollo and Escorts have treated over 1 lakh foreign patients.

Currently, the medical tourism market in India is estimated to be worth over US $ 300 million with approx. 170,000 foreign patients coming in every year and expected to grow into a US $ 2 billion business by 2012 with advantages of low-cost medical and surgery treatment compared to US and EU.

Tourism and Infra to get a boost

The Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in the first two weeks of October 2010, are set to change the face of Delhi and NCR. With approximately a million tourists expected to land in India to watch the grand spectacle, the push will be great for the Indian tourism industry.

Delhi has hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. This is the first time Delhi is playing host to the commonwealth games. Infact, this is only the second time that the games are being held in Asia.

Read article, Delhi: City of flyovers

Not only are the Games going to benefit the Indian tourism industry in a big way, these are also going to boost various job opportunities in sectors like hospitality, travel, aviation, services, who are going to hire more employees in order to handle the large influx of tourists.

There are various challenges in front of Commonwealth games organizing committee like ensuring accommodation requirements. For this the government is considering innovative options like registering Bead and Breakfast service providers, and even considering camping options in NCR to augment the current hotel development projects.

Delhi government is also serious about providing comfortable commute to the visitors. 10 of the 11 Commonwealth Games venue will be linked by Metro in time for the games. City will also have a dedicated Metro line from the airport to Cannaught Place.

A four-lane, 2.2 km underground stretch from Ring Road to Lodhi will link the Games Village to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, reducing traveling time for athletes. The new eight-lane expressway from Gurgaon to Delhi is already functional. Government is in the process of procuring another 1,100 new low floor, high-capacity air-conditioned buses to ease commuting.

Infact, all the efforts being put in by Delhi government are beginning to show results. Today, Delhi has a world class Metro transportation. More than 100 flyovers have come up in last 8 years. Movement at all focal points of Delhi like Dhaula Kuan, AIIMS, and connectivity to NOIDA has been smoothened out. The pollution levels in Delhi are much less than what they were 10 years ago. The city has new GREEN LOOK because of millions of trees planted along the roads. Infact, Green and Pink are the new colours chosen by the government for the city.

All in all, the tourism and infrastructure are set to get a huge boost because of the Games.