Travel News

Travel enthusiasts will now have one more stunning destination to explore – The Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, recently announced that Saudi Arabia will start offering tourist visas for the first time, thus opening up the ultra-conservative kingdom to tourists.

The announcement comes 2 weeks after destructive attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. Tourism will diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil.

“Opening Saudi Arabia to international tourists is a historic moment for our country,” tourism chief Ahmed al-Khateeb said in a statement.
He further added, that tourists will be amazed by the treasures Saudi Arabia has to share

Saudi Arabia Attractions

5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, breathtaking natural beauty & a vibrant local culture.”

Saudi Arabia Online Tourist Visas

Saudi Arabia has now opened applications for online tourist visas to citizens of 49 countries. Tourists from 38 countries in Europe, 7 in Asia, as well as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, will be eligible to apply for the new visas
These will cost SR300 ($80), with an additional cost of SR140 for travel insurance. The visas will be valid for 360 days from the date of issue for stays of 90 days or less, and for a total of no more than 180 days in a single year.
For residents of those 49 countries, visas will be obtainable online via a seven-minute application process, or on arrival at special counters in any of Saudi Arabia’s four international airports.

Saudi Arabia Dress Code for Tourists

The kingdom will relieve its strict dress code for foreign women. It won’t be mandatory to wear the body-shrouding abaya robe. However, foreign women, will be required to wear “modest clothing”.

Tourism as a New Industry in Saudi Arabia

Encouraging tourism is one of the main focus of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform programme to prepare the biggest Arab economy for a post-oil era.
The government hopes tourism will contribute up to 10 percent of the gross domestic product by 2030, compared to three percent currently.

The kingdom has splurged billions to build a tourism industry from scratch. To mention a few :

• Qiddiya “entertainment city” launched near Riyadh would include high-end theme parks, motor sport facilities and a safari area.
• A multi-billion dollar project to turn 50 islands and other pristine sites on the Red Sea into luxury resorts is already on the way.
• Besides, the country is also developing historic sites such as the centuries-old Mada’in Saleh, home to sandstone tombs of the same civilisation which built the Jordanian city of Petra.

By 2030 the government aims to attract up to 100 million annual visits by both domestic and foreign tourists.The sector is expected to create up to one million tourism jobs.

Can’t wait to explore the beautiful Saudi Arabia!

In the wake to preserve the ecology of Chandratal Lake in the Spiti Valley, the pradhan of Koksar panchayat has now decided to ban all sorts of camping close to the Chandratal Lake.

Camping near the Chandratal Lake has been one of the highlights of the Valley. However, the tourist footfall during the past few years has disturbed the ecology of the lake.

Camps set up by the locals near and around the lake for tourists have resulted in garbage and kitchen waste accumulation around these camps. The waste and garbage find their way to the lake, posing danger to the ecology of the lake. The polluted lake water further poses a threat to many wild animals and birds who come to the shore to drink water.

To prevent the lake from further deterioration, the panchayat has decided that no one will be allowed to set up camps beyond Batal, towards Chandratal Lake. Heavy penalty will also be imposed on those who violate the said directions.

Owing to its high altitude and heavy snowfall in winters, The Chandratal lake remains inaccessible for nearly 8 months and opens for the tourists only between the months of June and September. With the imposed ban, we hope the ecology improves, soon.

We welcome the panchayat decision and the steps taken to preserve this beautiful lake and the wildlife in the area.

A good news for daily commuters in Mumbai. BEST launched its first air conditioned mini buses.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray launched six of them at BEST headquarters in Colaba on September 16, 2019.

The 21-seater AC mini buses,procured on wet lease, aim to provide last-mile connectivity from railway and Metro stations, to over lakhs of daily commuters across Mumbai and its suburbs.

The state will soon launch 400 additional buses in different batches.The next lot is speculated to arrive only after the next assembly elections.

These AC mini buses will run at some of the signification locations such as Mumbai CST, Nariman Point and Churchgate-Nariman Point-Cuffe Parade zone,Prabhadevi, Goregaon and Malad, make commuting within Mumbai easy for the citizens.

The ac mini buses are manufactured by Force Motors and will be operated by Shri Krupa Services Pvt. Ltd, who will provide the drivers and maintain the vehicles.

With the launch of these mini buses, Mumbai hopes to bring the BEST buses once again in the popularity charts after Uber and Ola took a major share of commuters held by BEST.

BEST has been serving Mumbai city since at least 40 years now.