Port Blair, Nov 24: The Directorate of IP&T, A & N administration has issued orders for opening up of water sports activities of Scuba, Sea Walk, Parasailing, Jet Ski and Sea Kart. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prepared in consultation with NIWS, Goa have also been issued to ensure safety of tourists in view of COVID-19.
The water sports operators and tourism stakeholders have been advised for strict compliance of prescribed SOPs.
In the event of any violation of these SOPs by the operator, in the first instance, the operator will be debarred for fifteen days and in case of second time violation, the license of that particular operator will be suspended for three months.
The Andaman and Nicobar Administration has re-opened tourism sector in the Islands on the occasion of ‘World Tourism Day’ i.e. on 27th September, 2020. The beaches, museums, light & sound shows and water sports activities such as snorkeling and boat rides were re-opened with prescribed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), in the first phase. Now, the remaining water sports activities have also been opened, in the second phase.
The SOPs have been prescribed giving utmost importance to safety of the tourists and control of COVID-19. The SOPs consist of two segments i.e. general precautionary measures and activity specific measures. The Tourist Safety and Enforcement Team (TSET) and Dive Safety and Enforcement Team (DSET) members will supervise the implementation of all SOPs under the overall supervision of Tourist Safety and Supervisory Team (TSST) and Dive Safety and Supervisory Team (DSST) respectively.
Tourism sector being the major contributor and fulcrum to the economy of these Islands, the re-opening of these activities will help in revival of tourism industry in Andaman Nicobar Islands, which has been affected due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Resumption of these water sports activities will give much needed boost to the economy, apart from giving an opportunity for visiting tourists to add on recreational and adventure water sports into their itinerary.
