Right under the eyes of the Goan authorities -- in fact, with the active assistance of its immigration authorities -- the country's security appears to have been seriously compromised in the guise of tourism-friendly visa procedures.

Immigration authorities are handing out visa on arrival virtually every day to foreign tourists, although India -- unlike Thailand or Indonesia -- does not extend the facility, barring in ``emergent situations'' like death or illness in family, as set down by the norms of the Bureau of Immigration.

But this provision for visa due to human tragedy or emergency has become the norm in Goa. Check out these figures. In 2000, only 28 ``temporary landing facility'' (TLF) -- as these 15-day visas are called -- were granted. In just eight months between October 2007 and May 2008, 1,960 TLFs were issued -- in other words, eight TLFs a day on average.

 What's more interesting is that 90% of the TLFs, say sources, have been issued to Russians for whom Goa has emerged as a favoured destination. It's said that chartered plane-loads come from Russia without visa, and they are being granted entry without any real verification or background check. (For more details, see `Sun, Sand, Subversion?' in today's TOI-Crest edition).

The trend has got the Union home ministry worried. A top official told TOI, ``The number of TLFs are disproportionately high in Goa. It has serious security implications. We will look into it.''

 The ministry is particularly concerned about the fact that many Russian groups may have shady links, especially with drug dealers, and could easily be penetrated by terror groups.

I would suggest that consumers also take adequate precautions while hiring the services of travel agents and tour operators.
PUSHPA GIRIMA JI Consumer affairs specialist

This is one of the earliest cases against a travel agent that came up before the Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

K. Senthilrajan, who was going to Singapore for an entrance examination, was assured that he had confirmed tickets. However, his travel agent's claim turned out to be false and he had to spend all his money to buy an executive class ticket at the airport, so that he could reach Singapore in time for the examination.

On his return, the airline said he could not use the return ticket originally bought through the travel agent, as he had not used it for the onward journey.

With no money in hand (there were no international credit cards or cell phones then), Senthilrajan threatened to commit suicide and was finally allowed to use the return ticket, but after six days of waiting.

Source: Hindustan Times Consumer Focus - Need Watchdog For Tourism Sector

The tax -- of Rs 100 from heavy vehicles and Rs 30 from cars and jeeps -- will be levied by Mussoorie Municipal Board either through its employees or contracted agents from motorists at Kolhukhet -- Mussoorie's entry point. Those planning to spend their holidays at Uttarakhand's most pictureseque resort should now be ready to cough up ecological tax as their mite towards preserving the pristine greenery of the region.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, chairman of Mussoorie Municipal Board, O P Uniyal, said each private bus will be charged Rs 100 whereas the driver of a small vehicle will have to pay Rs 30 per entry. Two-wheelers will pay Rs 5. ``The decision has been taken. The government will strictly endorse these taxes with immediate effect,'' said chairman Uniyal.

The objective is to collect revenue for preserving the town's environment, its heritage, apart from maintaining its sanitation and cleanliness. The money will be spent on encouraging plantation and educating tourists against using plastic while in Mussoorie.

``We don't know whether the new tax will get good response or not, but we have done this to help preserve Mussoorie's beauty and eco-system without causing any setback to tourism,'' said a senior IAS officer in Dehradun.

In a major relocation of the corporate travel landscape, tourism promotion boards of the Gulf and South Asian countries are wooing Indian executives by offering free sight-seeing, discounted hotel accommodation and even waiving off visa fees for large groups.

Tourism bodies of countries like the UAE, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka look to attract Indian companies for business meetings, incentive tours, conferences and exhibitions.

"India is one of the few nations where we see companies still spending on travel. After the initial cut in travel spends in late 2008, companies have started spending once again," said Sunil Puri, India representative of Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB).

The large traditional corporate travel markets of the US, the UK, France and Australia have been shrinking following the global downturn, which has had little effect on Indian corporate travel.

Dubai-based travel services firm Lama Desert Tourism LLC managing partner, Kulwant Singh says UAE recently waived visa fee for an Indian travel delegation of 1,800 people to promote itself as a business destination.

Source: Economic Times Indian Business Tourists Get Red Carpet Welcome

Existing and new hotels of all categories all over the country would now have to comply with the requirements for the differently abled persons in respect of accessibility, special rooms with bathrooms and facilities etc in the public area by 1 September 2010, an official release said.

Under the revised norms, depending on the star category, hotels are now required to have metal detectors, CCTVs, X-ray machines and under belly scanners to screen vehicles. They have also to verify staff and suppliers of food and beverage outlets (restaurants) in the hotel.

For this purpose, the minimum number and type of restaurants / food and beverage (F&B) service has been allocated depending on the location of the hotel in the country based on a system of Grade A and Grade B cities.

The Grade A cities would comprise of major metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad/ Secunderabad and Delhi. (Delhi would include the hotels falling in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, NOIDA and Greater NOIDA). Grade B cities would comprise all other cities not covered in Grade A. Hotels located in Grade A cities would require to offer more types of cuisine / number of F&B outlets compared to Grade B cities. Hotels located in Grade B cities would not be required to offer the same number of F&B outlets as that of Grade A due to the lesser demand.

With a view to provide high standards of service, it has been made mandatory for hotels to have minimum percentage of trained supervisory and skilled staff possessing degree / diploma / skilled training certificate from central / state institute of hotel management / Food Craft Institute or from National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT) affiliated IHM or from other reputed hospitality schools etc.

The ministry said in formulating the guidelines, it has taken into consideration the changing requirements of international and domestic travellers as also the emerging safety and security consciousness in view of the recent incidents in the country.

These guidelines have been finalised after several rounds of interaction and with inputs from the hotel industry and the related stakeholders, the release said.

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Hotels To Be Disabled Friendly By Commonwealth Games: Tourism MinSource: Thaindian.com

The minister, in reply to a query by member A. Elavarasan, said her ministry, through its Indiatourism offices overeseas, has launched a series of promotional activities to increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTA).

The gamut of activities include advertising, participation in travel fairs, exhibitions, road shows, India evenings, workshops, food and cultural carnivals, publication of brochures, inviting media personalities, tour operators and opinion-makers to visit the country under the hospitality programme of the ministry, she said.

In addition, a Visit India 2009 scheme has also been announced by the tourism ministry. The Marketing Devlopment Assistance Scheme of the ministry has been expanded to provide financial assistance to service providers for the promotion of medical and convention and conference tourism in the country, the minister said.

Citing statistics, Selja said the number of tourist arrivals between January-June 2009 was just 2.47 million, which was nearly 9.3 per cent the number for the corresponding period in 2008. The year 2008 clocked nearly 5.6 per cent increase in the number of FTA over 2007.

In reply to another question in the upper house, she said the tourism ministry had assessed that the capital and NCR would require 40,000 hotels rooms under different categories for the Commonwealth Games 2010.

She said properties (hotels) were being developed by various private agencies in the capital, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to accommodate the visitors.