Travel Highlights | 24.09.2021

With a considerable dip in the number of coronavirus cases, the world is gradually opening itself to travel and tourism. Read the latest travel highlights curated by our travel experts.

1. The Kenya Tourism Board has announced that the country has reopened its borders for Indian travelers and Indians can now experience Kenya’s many adventures. Kenya closed its borders for tourism due to the second wave of coronavirus. India to Kenya flights will now resume according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA). Moreover, Indians won’t have to undergo a quarantine if they will show a COVID negative certificate, which should be done 96 hours before travel. The visa application process will be done online. 

2. Eden in Pondicherry and Kovalam in Tamil Nadu, two of India’s pristine beaches have received the coveted Blue Flag certification. The certificate was given by the Foundation for Environment Education in Denmark (FEE). The global recognition of these two beaches shows the sheer commitment of India’s tourism industry to develop eco-friendly destinations.

Not only to these two beaches but recertifications have been awarded to eight other beaches in India. These are, Shivrajpur in Gujarat, Ghoghla in Diu, Kasarkod and Padubidri in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala, Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden in Odisha, and Radhanagar in Andaman and Nicobar. These eight destinations were awarded the Blue Flag certificate last year.

3. If you love books more than people, then you must be aware of the famous Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. A library dedicated to the Haruki Murakami will be opened in Tokyo on October 1, 2021, called Haruki Murakami Library. As a place for literary research, cultural exchange, and a gathering spot for Murakami’s fans, the library will have writings, scrapbooks, and record collections. 

Murakami said, “I hope this will be a place where students can freely exchange and materialize ideas—a free, unique, and fresh spot on the university campus.”

Located at Waseda University, the library will also have a replica of his study with a desk, rows of bookshelves, and a record player. There will be a student-run-café too that will offer Murakami’s favorite dark roast coffee. Home to more than 3000 books by Murakami and manuscripts, the official name of the library is Waseda International House of Literature. 

4. The Arc De Triomphe, one of the most famous attractions in Paris, has currently wrapped in 270,000 sq ft long silvery fabric, and the site has taken tourists by surprise. The landmark monument will remain wrapped by the fabric for the next few weeks.

Got delayed because of the pandemic situation, the project, Wrapped, was supposed to happen in the fall of 2020.

The project was originally conceived by Christo, the maker of the monument, and his wife, and Jeanne-Claude, his artistic partner. All three of them started planning to wrap the monument in fabric back in the 60s, but Christo passed away in May of 2020.

5. Due to a decline in the new number of COVID cases, the Goan government announced the reopening of the state and issued fresh guidelines. Casinos of Goa also reopened on Monday. As per the new guidelines, only fully vaccinated people or those carrying their negative RT PCR test reports can visit the casinos. 

The announcement was made on Saturday by the state Chief Minister Pramod Sawant wherein he said the government’s expert committee decided to restart casinos, spas, massage parlors as the virus cases have declined. The CM added that the state is not yet ready to host popular events such as the Sunburn music festival.

That was all for this week’s travel highlights. We will be back with more exciting travel updates next week. Until then, stay tuned to Adotrip for all things travel.