The Tourism Secretary of India, Arvind Singh during an event organised by the Ministry of Tourism in Delhi, said that the government’s mood is in the favour of reopening international borders.
Apiece of good news awaits the Indian air passengers who are planning to fly abroad. Ministry of Tourism in its most recent statement has made a big announcement, informing that India is planning to reopen its international borders for the scheduled flights soon. The news was shared by the Tourism Secretary of India, Arvind Singh during his conversation with ET Travel, on the sidelines of an event that was organised by the Ministry of Tourism in Delhi. Much like other countries, owing to the disastrous outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, India too had closed its international borders.
In the chat, Singh also stated that the government’s mood is in the favour of reopening international borders. Sharing further details in the same direction, the Tourism Secretary of India said that the Ministry of Home Affairs, headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation are having extensive consultations to restart international scheduled flights in the near future. Singh added that everyone is on the same page when it comes to reopening borders, and restarting scheduled flights. However, the Tourism Secretary added that it is the Ministries of Home and Civil Aviation who will be announcing the date and setting the required protocols.
For the record, India has established an air bubble arrangement with a total of 18 countries, and 49 cities until September. Though the scheduled passenger flights have been suspended, India has been operating special international flights with proper COVID protocols.
It is expected that the tourism and hospitality industry of the country will return to better days once the borders are opened for scheduled international flights. However, considering the prevailing COVID threat, international tourists might be still skeptical to travel yet. The mindset has to be changed through systematic campaigns, and more.
On World Tourism Day, which was observed on September 27, people were expecting some announcements on the reopening of the borders and e-visa. But the day passed off without any major announcements from the government.
