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Goa readies for a tourism season without foreign charters | Goa News – Times of India

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PANAJI: The state’s tourism industry, which relies substantially on charters and foreign tourists, is bracing for a season completely bereft of international visitors. Stakeholders say they’ve given up hope for the season after the Centre’s decision last week not to restore tourist visas.
“I still don’t want to believe that we will not have a charter season,” said Ernest Dias of Sita, a travel company that handles charter tourists from Europe and Russia. “It will be a disaster for the industry if we do not have charters and foreign tourists. (But) in all likelihood, we may not have a charter season.”
The charter season in Goa starts by mid-October and concludes by April-May.
It receives around 2-2.5 lakh tourists via this mode, including Russians, British and European travellers. The state’s total international footfall is pegged at about 8 lakh, while the number for domestic tourists is around 80 lakh.
Over the past two months, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), a trade body of hotels and tour operators, has been pursuing “bubble transport arrangements” with the UK, Russia and Poland, Goa’s source markets, to enable tourists from the three countries to visit Goa.
In September, chief minister Pramod Sawant wrote to the Union home ministry to grant relaxation to Goa, since the state’s tourism industry is highly dependent on international tourists.
Tourism secretary J Ashok Kumar said that given the high stakes, the state government has made all efforts. “As of now, the government of India has not relaxed norms to allow international tourists. We have taken up the matter with the government and have consistently been following up,” he said.
With many countries in Europe, including the UK, going through the second wave of pandemic, industry stakeholders feel that Goa will have to be prepared for a season with no international tourists.
“With cases on the rise in Europe, are we ready to fight it,” said a senior official at a travel company. “Again, the virus strain found in Europe is said to be more virulent than the one in India. That’s what I have read, I’m not a scientist, but the decision of the government is right. Most of our foreign tourists are from the UK and European countries. I doubt we will have charters at all this season.”
Dias, of Sita, said it’s a worrying trend. “I don’t think we will have any foreign tourists till December,” he said. If things improve, perhaps in January we may have some travellers, but that too looks doubtful. If the announcement lifting restrictions doesn’t happen before the first week of January, I don’t think any charter operators will want to come to Goa for just two months.”
British tourists are known to plan their holidays in advance. They plan their long stay in Goa from November to March-April, to get away from their severe winter. Russian tourists, meanwhile, are more “impromptu” in their holiday plans. An operator said that there is no scope for either segment to travel with no signs that travel restrictions would be lifted.
TTAG president Nilesh Shah said with source markets witnessing a spike, the situation is not favourable for Goa’s tourism industry. The least we can hope for is that the government makes an announcement restoring tourist visas in advance, so that marketing and bookings can start.
“Unless the announcement happens, we cannot start taking bookings, as we need time to market the product,” Shah said. “It is going to be a challenging time. The small operators — shacks and small hotels — that depend on repeat charter tourists will suffer a blow. International tourists have a long stay of minimum 15 days, whereas the standard stay for domestic tourists is three to four days.”

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Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

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Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

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Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

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Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

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Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

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On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

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