Kerala Tourism upbeat after Australia roadshow

[email protected] (The Hindu)
October 27, 2012
Kerala-Tour

Thiruvananthapuram, October 27: Three roadshows organised by Kerala Tourism this week in Australia were the toast of the Pacific Rim country barely after a week Indian batting hero Sachin Tendulkar was bestowed on the Membership of the Order of Australia.

Led by Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar, the campaign in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth for tour operators showcased the tremendous opportunities for promoting the State’s tourist destinations. A number of leading tour operators took part in the road shows to explore business tie-ups with their counterparts in Australia.

In Brisbane, 30 representatives of tour operators attended the road show held on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the number of Australian business participants in Melbourne was more than double at 66. The final road show in Perth, was held on Thursday with the attendance of local buyers at over 30.

“I am excited by the enthusiasm shown by the Australian tourism trade and media for Kerala as one of the top destinations in the world,” Mr. Anil Kumar said in Melbourne. “The strengthening of bilateral ties between India and Australia demonstrated by the visit of the Australian Prime Minister to India augurs well for tourism and will inspire more Australian travellers,” he said.

With a new State tourism policy in place and a new bouquet of tourism products available, the Tourism Minister said Kerala had much more surprises in store for Australian visitors.

Australia is the fifth largest market for Kerala Tourism. “Over the years, there has been an impressive growth in tourist arrivals from the Asia-Pacific region, with the figures during the last five years showing a phenomenal increase of 168 per cent,” said Kerala Tourism Secretary Suman Billa, who was also part of the Kerala Tourism delegation.

“With increased focus on the region and improved air connectivity between Australia and Kerala, we will see more Australian travellers holidaying in the State in the coming days,” Mr. Billa said.


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Agencies
July 30,2020

Chennai, Jul 30: Tamil Nadu government on Thursday extended the Covid-19 lockdown till August 31, giving only a few relaxations like allowing delivery of non-essential goods by e-commerce sites. The ban on public transport has been extended till August 31, while availing of e-pass for inter-district and inter-state travel will continue to be in force.

In a detailed statement, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced a “complete lockdown” during which only essential services would continue to be in force on all Sundays during the month of August across the state.  

In Chennai, restaurants will be allowed to open dine-in facilities at 50 percent of its total capacity from 6 am to 7 pm from August 1, while vegetable shops, grocery outlets and standalone commercial establishments will also be allowed to remain open from 6 am to 7 pm.

E-commerce sites have been allowed to begin delivery of non-essential goods from August 1, while the ban on public transport, temples in urban areas and towns, cinema halls, shopping malls, and gyms would continue till August 31.

It also said companies or factories in Chennai that have been allowed to function with 50 percent of staff can increase their strength to 75 percent from August 1.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The government also asked companies to encourage its employees to work from home and advised commercial establishments to follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as advised by it. Inter-state or inter-district travel will be allowed only with e-pass, while ban on metro and suburban trains continues.

The decision to extend the lockdown till August 31 comes as Tamil Nadu continues to grapple with an increasing number of coronavirus cases. The prevalence of the virus is no more limited to one city or region of the state with almost all districts reporting fresh cases, some of them over 200 new patients, every day.

On Thursday morning, Tamil Nadu’s Covid-19 tally was 2,34,114 including 1,72,883 discharges and 3,741 deaths. The active cases stood at 57,490.

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News Network
May 6,2020

May 6:The Congress on Wednesday said it is "economically anti-national" to fleece Indians of Rs 1.4 lakh crore by raising taxes on petrol and diesel, and urged the Centre to share 75 per cent of this revenue with states so that people are not burdened.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said when the entire country is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and its poor, including migrants, shopkeepers and small businessmen, were virtually penniless, the government of India was "fleecing" 130 crore Indians by insurmountably raising prices of petrol and diesel.

"To fleece people of India in this fashion is economically anti-national," he told reporters at a press conference through video conferencing.

Surjewala alleged that the manner in which "illegally and forcibly" this recovery is being made is "inhumane, cruel and insensitive".

"The government should transfer 75 per cent of this money so collected through raise in taxes to states. This will ensure there is no further burden on people of India, by way of more taxes on petroleum products by states," he said.

He said the issue was discussed at a meeting of the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states with party president Sonia Gandhi, where everyone besides former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed deep concerns.

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: With 1,594 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the last 24 hours and 51 deaths, India's total count of coronavirus cases surged to 29,974, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.

The total cases are inclusive of 7,026 cured and discharged patients, one migrated and 937 deaths.

At present, there are 22,010 active COVID-19 cases in the country.

Addressing a press conference here, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, said that in the last 28 days, 17 districts have had no new Covid-19 cases. "This means we need to maintain constant vigil," he added.

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