Booking an international tour package
International travel in the post-pandemic world has undergone a sea change, what with RT-PCR tests reports mandatory to step into a new country. Yet, the frenzy of going on a world tour is not lost on most avid Indian travellers. The moment you have made your travel plans, it is time to scour world tour packages across various OTA websites who have with them a host of international tour packages, depending on your choice of destination and the season in which you plan to travel.

But while going through the international holiday packages, you need to ensure that the itinerary resonates with your idea of travel, it includes all activities you are passionate about, and ultimately whether any of these world tour packages from India fall within your budget. But ahead of selecting a destination or choosing an activity that you would love to take up at the destination, you need to do some legwork, and even better if the OTA does it for you.

Here’s exploring the different facets of international travel post the COVID-19 lockdown.

Special social media campaigns to woo Indian travellers
Plenty short-haul destinations like Bali, Maldives, UAE and Singapore are running campaigns and have attractively-priced packages in a tie-up with airlines to bring in Indian tourists.

Even Egypt, where Coronavirus cases are on the decline is once more urging travellers to behold the ancient pyramids of Giza. For Indian tourists, planning to visit Dubai or any of the Emirates, a COVID-19 PCR test done not more than 96 hours ahead of scheduled departure, and a second test on arrival in Dubai has been made mandatory.

The Dubai tourism board is also running campaigns like ‘Live Your Story’ on their various social media platforms to encourage more travellers.

Organising food and shopping fiestas
The Dubai tourism board, for instance, has worked towards creating an event-filled calender to enthuse travellers in 2021. The year kicks off with the annual Dubai shopping festival held in January, and the event comes with plenty of events and attractions to attract travellers across every budget. February will see the curtains bring lifted on its food festival, Gastronomy, with restaurants, kiosks, pop-up restaurants dishing out favourites from the world over.

March sees culture-vultures flocking to Dubai for the Art Dubai event.

COVID-19 air bubble agreements
India has entered into air bubbles with 13 countries of the world comprising Canada, Maldives, UAE, France, Germany, Nigeria, Japan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, USA and UK. Air bubbles agreements are implemented between countries to circumvent the multiple COVID-19 testing and quarantine rules in the arrival countries.

Also called travel corridors, this system is set up between two countries that consider one another safe and allow airlines of both the countries to fly travellers on both sides without any restrictions. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in the Baltic were the first countries to make an air bubble to enable free travel within themselves.

While some European countries are experiencing a second wave of the virus, there are those which remain safe and whose citizens are allowed to travel freely among themselves under this reciprocal agreement. The Maldives is once more enticing travellers to its pristine sands and azure waters post the air bubble agreement it entered with India.

These include collaborations with carriers, OTAs to promote the destination and the various activities in it.

Collaborations with airlines and hotels
The Maldives is collaborating with AirAsia, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Air Astana to promote tourism in Maldives.

This includes providing special facilities for a free and hygienic stay at some of its key luxury properties which includes resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveboards, offering industry stakeholders with a platform to promote their special deals, packages as well as experiences.

Special outreach campaigns
Singapore and Bali remain major destinations for short-haul travel for Indians, and have been the favourites round the year.

Singapore by way of taking a long-term view of the Indian market is investing in social media among other digital campaigns in partnership with various Indian media outfits including the very popular NH7 Weekender music festival. The Singapore Tourism Board is also set to launch a campaign called ‘Singapore thru Passionistas’ Eyes’ to woo travellers especially those from the sub-continent.

Vaccine tourism
Just before the COVID-19 vaccine made its debut in the US, a certain Indian travel agency announced it was signing up customers for a special package which involved a four-day trip to New York City from Mumbai with a Coronavirus vaccination thrown in for nearly $2000. They coined the term ‘vaccine tourism’. This facility is available to only Indians with a valid 10-year US visa.

Soon several others including a Kolkata-based travel agency began registering travellers for special vaccination packages. While the feasibility and probability of such tourism junkets remain obscure, it is still quite fancy to imagine someone with sufficient funds from India who does not have access to the coveted COVID-19 vaccine fly to another country to enjoy a holiday and get a shot as well while at it.

Revised protocols to keep visitors safe
Dubai has set some really high hygiene and sanitisation standards to keep its citizens, residents as well as travellers safe. For starters, anyone travelling to the Emirate needs to carry with them a pre-travel RT-PCR test result. Wearing a protective mask at all times in any public place is mandatory. Anyone found flouting the rules need to face stringent repercussions.

Among other precautionary measures are the need for maintaining social distancing at cafes, eateries that anyway keep a three-metre distance between two tables as opposed to the two-metre which was prescribed before the second wave of the pandemic. You will find special social distancing floor signs in the Dubai Mall among other public places.

Always keep an eye out on pavements, roads and even inside of shops for stickers that mention the correct distance that needs to be maintained at any point of time. The new rule has it that any visitor arriving into Dubai must download the Al Hosn app to update their COVID-19 test results upon arrival. The passengers are required to stay in quarantine in case their results are due.

Whether you are a cyclist or a pedestrian, wearing the mask is mandatory for everyone from residents to visitors. Even water taxis (locally called abra) on the creek in old Dubai have social distancing signs specially demarcated.